Perfection is in the Eyes of the Beholder
by Awesomeness Incarnate
Summary: <html><head></head>Challenge by dracohalo117 Orochimaru's body was to be Perfect- comprised of the DNA of all of the members of Akatsuki. And who does he entrust with this power until he is ready to claim it? Naruto Uzumaki. Strong Naruto, Kushina, Semi-good Akatsuki.</html>
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, this challenge belongs to dracohalo117, any themes or ideas that appear in either Thanathos' or Arynia's Perfection fics belong to them respectively and whatever is left belongs to me.

A/N: This is a challenge I've been planning on taking up for some time. Here are the parameters: '**Perfection:** After Orochimaru leaves Akatsuki he takes objects of great power from each of his fellow members. He returns to Konoha and kidnaps the one he will make his new vessel…Naruto Uzumaki. (Living Kushina, Naruto with powers of Kakuzu, Hidan, Sasori, Zetsu, Nagato/Pein, Konan, Itachi, Kisame, or Deidara, you can remove some of the powers if need be, but having all of them is much appreciated).'

Now let's see if I can make something out of this challenge!

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><p>Orochimaru frowned in annoyance. When Sarutobi had allowed him to flee rather than killing him, the Sandiame may have thought he was doing his old student a favor. However, at least from the point of view of Orochimaru, being forced to abandon all of his experiments and equipment was nothing short of inconsiderate. Had Orochimaru not been setting up a lab in one of the minor villages outside of Konoha for years, he would have been seriously set back in his research after this unforeseen event.<p>

He was particularly annoyed because the timing of Sarutobi's raid meant that he had had to abandon every one of the sixty children he had commandeered, just when the vitals of that one little boy had seemed to be on the point of stabilizing. Now he might never know if his trying to reproduce to Mokuton bloodline had come to anything. Pity. Waste.

That was frame of mind and state of thinking Orochimaru had reached by the time he was approached by Akatsuki. He was ready to listen to this group and its advances and propositions. Though it was difficult for him to sort out their confused and tangled web of morals and obligations, the one thing he truly understood in their offer was something he had yearned for and actively sought after for a good part of his life. Power. And at what cost?

No cost, the representative of this group assured him. The only thing that would be asked of him would be that he fight alongside the other members of this group and, naturally, swear allegiance to their leader.

Orochimaru considered this and, as he did so, let his eyes travel over the man before him with interest. He was crouched low to the ground, his broad, slightly domed back swathed in a dark robe patterned with bloodred clouds. A wide straw hat hung with veils hid the man's face. Absently, Orochimaru wondered why the man felt the need to cover his face. After a minute, his focus returned to the man's offer. To his pleasure, Orochimaru found that his superior mind had it all neatly worked out. There was not a doubt in his mind. Power for the sake of a few flimsy promises? Was there even anything that needed consideration?

And thus Orochimaru found his way into the ranks of the Akatsuki. And what he saw there changed his life.

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><p>Orochimaru had always been a solitary man, his furtive habits of secrets and lies stretching even as far back as to when he had still been on a genin team. They had been little things then, but he had had a lifetime to build those habits and interests up to something a bit more sinister. And for the last couple of years, the interests had shifted to the topic of immortality.<p>

Orochimaru had tried and tested every method he had heard of to extend his lifespan, for despite everything he had done to himself, Orochimaru could never escape the looming fate of the mortal man: Death.

Until he made an amazing discovery.

If one lives life without incident, without the corruption of cancers and diseases, if one does nothing to force an early death upon oneself, what is it that ultimately kills one? The answer, of course, is simple obsolescence. The body runs out of inertia. Organs fail, whole sectors of the brain shut down and the body begins to decompose.

Now, these were not original observations for Orochimaru to make, but such was his loathing for his own ties to mortality that he became desperate to hit on the solution that would solve his problems and prevent his body from decaying and coming undone, betraying him, in fact. And finally, after years of fruitless searching, the fateful question occurred to the Snake sannin. _It is, perhaps, inevitable that my own body will eventually fail. But who on earth is to stop me from turning to the bodies of others when my own is no longer up to the task?_ And the answer to Orochimaru's longest-standing dilemma was at last within sight.

True, the technique took time to perfect, but once it was finished, it was truly an elegant jutsu. Orochimaru had only to look around him, select a suitable host, and take over, molding the features to resemble his own (a moment of vanity). Through trial and error, Orochimaru discovered two very important features of his new favorite jutsu. The first was that whatever host he selected, he was stuck with them for a minimum of three years. The second, and possibly more important discovery, was the fact that, when he took possession of a new 'skin', as he liked to think of his hosts, their natural bloodlines and abilities came into his possession for the duration of his stay inside of their bodies.

Naturally, the first step from the latter discovery was to ensure that all of the hosts Orochimaru had lined up for future occupation had some bloodline or power to recommend them as to make Orochimaru's stay in their skin more valuable and more worthwhile. However, as it often is with all who crave power, simply occupying those with one existing bloodline or another became trite and less spectacular a prospect with time. So, just as naturally as the first phase, the second phase of thinking cropped up.

If one can create one jutsu, one can create many, right? So if one can have one power, one may as well have more than one. The long and short of it: if Orochimaru was going to stick to inhabiting those who already possessed a bloodline when he found them, his choices were rather limited. However, if Orochimaru were to combine bloodlines, were to _create_ rather than _find_ a host, why, the possibilities were nigh-limitless. He could build an incredible body.

The Perfect body.

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><p>When Orochimaru was formally inducted into the organization of Akatsuki, he was immediately paired up with Sasori, the man who had been sent to recruit him. Initially, Orochimaru assumed that he had only been placed with a partner because he was new to the organization but he soon discovered, when he finally met the other members in person shortly after his initiation, that is was customary for all of the members of Akatsuki to travel in groups of two, unless of course their mysterious leader, a man known only as 'Pein', instructed them to go after a more difficult target, in which case multiple groups were dispatched.<p>

However, unusual customs aside, Akatsuki was all Orochimaru could have hoped for in an organization. Not because of its immediate goals, which seemed to consist mostly of going after high-bounty missing-nin, particularly in Ame, where the Akatsuki headquarters were located, though occasionally certain groups would be forced to journey farther afield in pursuit of their quarry. Not even the long-term goals of the group interested Orochimaru, as he was never specifically told what those might be. All he knew of those matters consisted of what he had gathered from whispers and question and snatches of conversations. From these things, he was able to surmise that Akatsuki's leader's, Pein's, plans included the Jinchuriki and the nine bijuu in some way.

But none of these things made Orochimaru notably excited. No, the element of Akatsuki that really piqued his interest was the members themselves. Once Orochimaru was able to have a good look at each of them in person, he wondered at his good fortune at being invited into this group.

For one thing, there was his own partner, Sasori of the Red Sand, the legendary puppet master from Suna. Orochimaru had not initially recognized him when he had come to ask Orochimaru to join, but once the Snake sannin properly understood just who his partner was, he was truly impressed. Sasori's reputation preceded him, though it was some time before Orochimaru saw any more of him than just the puppet he travelled in.

Another member who made an impression on Orochimaru was the yet-partner-less Kiri missing-nin Kisame Hoshigaki, the Monster of the Mist, also known as the Tailed Beast Without a Tail. Kisame had become one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist when he had killed first his teammates to prevent them from leaking information under torture and then his sensei when he realized the man was corrupt. He had taken from his dead master the sword he still wielded, a sentient, scaled weapon that acted as a leech, drawing chakra from all those it touched, save for Kisame, to whom Samehada could give chakra to heal him.

Orochimaru had been aimlessly exploring the corridors of the Akatsuki headquarters when he happened to encounter Kakuzu, formerly of Takigakure. The Snake sannin's heart beat faster, though Orochimaru knew it to be out of excitement rather than fear. From what Orochimaru had heard of the man with the strange eyes, Kakuzu not only had in his possession the hearts of the village leaders who had imprisoned him, but a pseudo-immortality technique to accompany them. Apparently, the man had managed to incorporate those hearts into his own body, allowing him to send them into battle in the guises of great beasts of thread and chakra. Orochimaru knew that Kakuzu could never be killed so long as even a single heart remained to him. This was an ability worth investigating.

Yet another member with an ability so tantalizing that it practically made the Snake sannin start salivating when he first saw it in action was that of Hidan, Kakuzu's partner. While Kakuzu's abilities only seemed to grant him extended life, it seemed as though Hidan's powers wrought true immortality. It was said that it was Hidan's patron god, Jashin, who apparently demanded numerous bloody sacrifices every time Hidan fought, was the source of Hidan's immortality. True, it did seem slightly inconvenient that any part of Hidan that happened to be cut off during a struggle would have to be manually reattached, but to Orochimaru's mind, the prospect of not dying when, say, ones head was removed more than made up for that.

There was a member of Akatsuki that Orochimaru rarely saw, and that was the organization's spy, Zetsu. Possessing a split personality, and an accordingly split appearance, Zetsu's loyalties often seemed slightly random and unfixed. These were, perhaps, the reasons that Zetsu never had a partner. The reason he made such a good spy, Sasori informed Orochimaru, was that he had the ability to merge with surfaces, mainly the ground, and instantly reemerge from any other surface at all, allowing for fast travel and quick communication.

For some time, Orochimaru had been wondering how, in an organization mainly composed of missing-nin, Akatsuki managed to collect the bounties for the other missing-nin they tracked down and killed on a daily basis. The answer came to him in the form of Konan, 'God's Paper Angel of Ame.' Konan had the ability to infuse sheets of paper with her chakra to manipulate them as weapons, or even go so far as to transform her entire body into sheets of paper. These abilities, while interesting enough, especially from the standpoint of a scientist, paled in comparison to those of Konan's partner, Pein.

The moment Orochimaru laid eyes on Pein, he could barely contain his greed. The Rinnegan! A practically unstoppable doujutsu, one to rival even the Sharingan. But, as Orochimaru quickly learned, the Pein that he had thought of as the leader of Akatsuki was nothing more than a fragment of the true Pein, who was, in fact, a man named Nagato, the leader of Ame. Nagato used the six bodies of Pein in much the same way Sasori used his puppets, directing them through the metal piercings that were infused with Nagato's chakra. However, each of the bodies of Pein, unmistakable with their orange hair and numerous facial piercings, was more attractive to Orochimaru than any number of puppets, as each possessed the Rinnegan.

The moment Orochimaru realized that, for the first time, he was in close contact on a daily basis with so many individuals with such immense natural power, it became clear to him what he would do. The first body he would test his immortality jutsu on would be one constructed of the DNA of all of Orochimaru's fellow members of Akatsuki. With that decided, all that remained was to gather the DNA.

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><p>Logically enough, Orochimaru decide to begin his enterprise of gathering DNA with Hidan. Hidan left pints of blood spattered on the ground almost every time he engaged in battle. It was no trouble at all for Orochimaru to salvage some, secretly tucking away the vials in his cloak.<p>

Kakuzu presented a bit more of a challenge, as the man had no blood to spill and kept his hair tied up and covered at all times. It was only the merest luck that Orochimaru managed to procure some of Kakuzu's DNA. He and Sasori had been joined by Hidan and Kakuzu on tracking down a pair of missing-nin from Suna, the Gamamoto brothers. Sasori hung back from this fight, as the Gamamoto brothers were close-range fighters who wielded oversize, serrated kunai. Kakuzu had weakened them, calling out only two of his thread beasts before drawing back and allowing Orochimaru to kill the first brother. Orochimaru suspected Kakuzu had been ordered to do so, as he had not seemed whole-hearted in his insistence that the Snake sannin finish off the shinobi. Of course, orders or no, Hidan demanded that he the one to kill the other brother, which he did, with much messy, drawn-out suffering.

Kakuzu and Sasori, possibly regretting letting Orochimaru claim one of the kills, told the Snake sannin to seal up the bodies in a scroll so they could be brought back to Ame for the reward. This Orochimaru obligingly did. However, while he was bent over, sealing the body of the brother he himself had killed, he noticed several thick, dark, coarse threads caught in the jagged ridges of the man's weapon. Quickly and carefully, Orochimaru worked the threads free, folding them up in a square of cloth and hiding them in his cloak before sealing up the corpse and hastening after his teammates, a small smile playing around his thin mouth.

Orochimaru had at first thought it would be easy to gather genetic material from Pein, just run his fingers through Animal Path's hair and he'd have his sample. But it soon occurred to Orochimaru that the paths of Pein could not have originally possessed the Rinnegan before Nagato took control of them; therefore, DNA from any of them might not be of any use at all to his plan to obtain the Rinnegan. Orochimaru thought again. It came to him that Nagato had to control his paths of Pein somehow, and that perhaps that was the way to gather the genetic material he needed. Suddenly, Orochimaru remembered the piercings, the tiny spikes and bars composed of dark metal. Metal infused with Nagato's chakra. The same type of metal that all of the Paths of Pein could form literally with the flick of a wrist.

Once he had come to this realization, it was no trouble at all for the Snake sannin to pay a little visit to the private training grounds behind the Akatsuki headquarters building just as Deva Path was leaving, its own training done for the day. Orochimaru was delighted to find that Deva Path had been practicing its aim, hurling short lengths of the chakra-infused metal he produced at the straw dummies and various targets. Pretending he was just cleaning up a little before he did some practicing himself, Orochimaru went around, pulling short lengths of metal out of the targets. He put the resulting pile of thick metal rods by the door that led back inside the compound, but not before he snagged a few pieces, pulling them inside his sleeve and slipping them in a pocket sew into to the inside of his robe. Being paranoid by nature, Orochimaru then spent the next few hours outside training, just in case anyone was watching him.

Though Kisame was a formidable fighter, there was not much in the way of special bloodlines or powers that he had to offer Orochimaru. No, what the Snake sannin really wanted from the Hoshigaki was some genetic material from the large, leech-like sword, Samehada. And, in a way he could not have foreseen, just such an opportunity presented itself to Orochimaru, practically screaming to be exploited.

It started when Orochimaru asked Kisame to spar with him with the vague idea that fighting the shark-man would give him a better idea of how to acquire some DNA from Samehada.

Kisame pulled a face. "Can I put off that spar, actually? I'll make it up to you later."

Kisame immediately had Orochimaru's attention at that, though the Snake sannin thought he disguised it well. "Why?" he asked, feigning disappointment.

"You picked the one day to ask that Samehada is shedding," Kisame said. Orochimaru noticed that Kisame did not have the sword with him.

"Shedding? I didn't know he sheds," Orochimaru said, shaming disinterest as hard as he could.

"Yeah, it doesn't happen often, only once every couple of years."

"What happens?"

"Well, a new coat of scales grows, forcing the old scales to drop off. The old scales won't absorb chakra once they fall off, but they're still full of chakra, so once all of them have fallen off and the new coat has settled, Samehada eats the old scales."

"How long does the whole process take?"

"A good twelve hours, not including the twenty minutes of so it takes him to eat the old scales," Kisame said ruefully.

"In that case," Orochimaru sighed discontentedly, "I'll let you off sparring, for now."

"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you once Samehada's ready," Kisame promised.

Orochimaru nodded and walked away. Once he was out of sight, he headed straight to Kisame's room to gather a couple of scales, almost unable to suppress his laughter. That had been amazingly easy!

When Orochimaru had first been shown the outdoor training grounds behind the Akatsuki headquarters, he had immediately noticed and commented on the tiny strip of garden down the left side of the headquarters building. He was quickly informed that Zetsu, who found it easier to merge with the ground if there were plants growing in it, tended to the flowers and grass there. Orochimaru carefully made a note of this, knowing that if he was going to get some DNA off of Zetsu, it would probably be while he was reemerging from the ground.

After nearly a month of bidding his time and keeping an eye out, Orochimaru thought that he might finally have hit on a way to get some of Zetsu's DNA and get away with it. It was when he spotted Konan arranging some long-stemmed yellow flowers in a vase, flowers Orochimaru knew he had recently spotted in Zetsu's little garden. When he questioned her, she gave a strange look before answering.

"Yes, they're from Zetsu's garden. He'll object as usual, but he'll deal with it." With a flourish that Orochimaru suspected was for his benefit, Konan produced several paper flowers from nowhere and slid them into the vase, mixing them in with the real ones. Orochimaru watched her, his mind whirring with thoughts of how to get his hands on even a few strands of Zetsu's DNA. It would be more than two weeks before he could implement his plan to achieve that end.

Orochimaru left the building, intending to do a bit of target practice. However, no sooner than he set foot outside the building he caught sight of something green in the corner of his eye. He immediately adjusted his path, heading for Zetsu's garden and pulling a small pair of sample snips out of an inner pocket. He knelt down, pretending not to see the enormous, flytrap-like growth or the accusing pair of mismatched eyes staring at him from the height of the nearest flowers. Orochimaru began clip flowers, slowly moving down the bed until he was directly in front of Zetsu's head, which was the only part of the man that was poking out of the ground. Orochimaru clipped off a few strands of Zetsu's hair before he was forced to pull back his hands or risk losing them as Zetsu closed his flytrap with a loud snap.

Orochimaru hastily stowed the snips away and stood, backing up a step. Zetsu's flytrap opened up again and the mismatched man glared at Orochimaru.  
>"What do you <strong>think you're doing<strong>?"

Orochimaru sighed theatrically, doing his best to put a bit of whine into his words. "Konan's making me do her dirty work just because she still thinks of me as the new guy. She asked me to come out here and cut her some flowers." Orochimaru sulkily held out the bunch of assorted flowers in his left hand.

Zetsu stared at the flowers as though they were the murdered corpses of his closest family and friends. "**Just don't do it again. **It's not funny."

Orochimaru nodded quickly. Zetsu glared at him one more time before sinking back into the ground completely. Orochimaru uncurled the hand wrapped around the stems of the flowers he had cut and delicately began picking greenish hairs out from between the stems.

When he had collected all of the strands of hair and carefully tucked them away he went back inside. He placed the flowers in one of Konan's vases just in case Zetsu thought to check up on his alibi. He stared at the slightly wilted flowers in discontent. Something was missing. _Konan mixes paper flowers in with the real ones,_ Orochimaru realized. _If I'm going to do this, I have to do it right or the others will suspect. _ Orochimaru hunted up the vase Konan had filled two weeks ago. It contained the browned and shriveled husks of those old flowers and, as if in mockery of the dead blooms, several full, perfect paper flowers. Orochimaru got rid of the dead flowers and slipped the paper creations out of the old vase and arranged them in the new one. _Now that that's done, how do I go about getting a bit of Konan's DNA?_ Orochimaru wondered, walking away. Without warning, he stopped cold in his tracks, quite glad that no one else was around to see him. _Either I'm a gold-plated genius or a complete and total fool,_ Orochimaru thought, slowly turning to face his floral arrangement. _I was there when Konan made those paper flowers. I don't remember her pulling out any paper to fold. The paper just… appeared. Every one of those flowers contains both her DNA and her chakra! _As Orochimaru rearranged the flowers to hide the gap that had been created by removing one of the paper flowers, he decided _Gold-plated genius._

Sasori, the final member Orochimaru needed DNA from, was proving to be even more of a problem than Pein had been. For one thing, he always traveled and fought from inside one of his favorite puppets, Hiruko. Orochimaru had only seen him without his casing once in all of his time as one of Akatsuki, and that had been because Hiruko had been damaged in a fight and Sasori wanted to repair him. When the red-haired man emerged, Orochimaru had been intrigued. The man must be over thirty at least but he had the slight frame and boyish face of one in his late teens. The round eyes that had stared at Orochimaru so defiantly, daring the Snake sannin to comment on his appearance, were set in a face of smooth, hollow curves unmarred by the passing of time. But Orochimaru, his primary affinity being that of snakes, did not have to rely entirely on his eyes to analyze his partner. He drew breath after quiet breath, letting the sensitive scent receptors in his mouth and nose take in every aspect of Sasori's scent.

That smell troubled him. Sasori smelled of warm, varnished wood and sharply of much-used and well-oiled metal, but not, to Orochimaru's quiet distress, of anything that a human normally possesses that could be taken for a DNA sample. He simply did not have the smells of hair or sweat or even of saliva. The only hopeful smell Orochimaru caught under the overwhelming odor of chakra-infused iron was the faintest, rusty smell of blood, coming from the vicinity of Sasori's chest cavity as he bent over Hiruko, a delicate tool gripped expertly in his hand. _So, your heart is human, no matter what the rest on you is, eh Sasori?_ Orochimaru thought. This was one problem he could attack directly. The only thing he could do was wait for an opportunity to present itself and, if need be, tweak the circumstances a bit.

And, as it just so happened, the very situation materialized no more than a couple of months after Orochimaru made his novel discovery abut the state of Sasori's true body. It was when Pein had directed Sasori and Orochimaru to go after Yashiki Matsuma, high-profile missing-nin hailing from Yugakure. Orochimaru thought wryly, as his sword glanced harmlessly off of Matsuma's plated bracers and he dodged a high kick, that perhaps Akatsuki's esteemed leader had underestimated this Yashiki Matsuma. He was putting up one hell of a fight. It was at this point that Orochimaru, having dodged a rapid succession of kicks and blows, and more than one potentially fatal projectile, failed to notice the final move of the set. Matsuma's knee slammed into his chest and sent him sprawling. He was prevented from getting up as several large shuriken that had been sent spinning after him the moment he had been knocked back slammed into the rock around him, pinning him tightly by his clothes and nicking and lacerating his flesh in several places. It was all he could do to crane his neck upwards to watch how Sasori was faring.

The puppet master, hidden inside Hiruko as usual, seemed to be holding his own. The scorpion-like tail of the massive puppet came whipping down to block a wild swing from Matsuma, just missing the missing-nin's face by a hairsbreadth. Matsuma struggled for the briefest moment before recognizing that he would be unable to gain any ground against the powerful jointed tail. Instead, he fell into a kind of crouch, disengaging his thick, heavy blade from Hiruko's tail, allowing the tail to arc of his head and slamming the wide, rounded pommel of his weapon down on the broad shell of the large puppet, using chakra to strengthen the blow. Orochimaru winced as the reinforced wood splintered and buckled, the body of the puppet completely collapsing in scant instants.

What Yashiki Matsuma could not see from his perch on top of Hiruko's shell, but what Orochimaru could see from his worm's eye vantage point was the red-haired figure released from the underbelly of the demolished puppet lightly drop to the ground and scuttle up and over the side of Hiruko's shell. Sasori was on Matsuma in an instant, one arm wrapped around Matsuma's throat and another fetching out a kunai. Matsuma, caught off guard not wasting time trying to draw breath, simple reversed his grip on his mighty blade, plunging it back under his own arm, the tip aimed straight for Sasori's heart. Orochimaru caught sight of a flash of purple. His nostrils dilated and he caught the tantalizing scent of blood. Then he realized that Matsuma had stopped moving. It probably had something to do with the poisoned kunai protruding from the side of his neck.

Sasori released his hold on Matsuma's body and let it topple off the back of his ruined puppet. Then he himself leapt down and Orochimaru was astonished to note that the red-haired man nearly stumbled upon landing. He approached Orochimaru, swaying slightly, and dropped to his knees to tug the shuriken out of the rocky earth, freeing his comrade. When he bent over Orochimaru, the Snake sannin saw a shallow gash in Sasori's chest right over the place one's heart would be in a normal human. The gash was leaking purplish liquid and the odor of fresh blood came to Orochimaru in gusts as Sasori straightened and stood up. Orochimaru pulled back his sleeves to examine the many cuts and bruises on his arms, pretending not to notice Sasori's condition.

It seemed that Sasori himself had barely noticed his injury. It was only when he looked down at the purple blood dripping down his robe that he reacted, exclaiming in annoyance and trying to stem the flow. Secretly, hidden from Sasori's sight on Hiruko's other side, Orochimaru crouched down to examine the thick, heavy sword that Matsuma had wielded. The last two inches of the tip were soaked in the same purplish blood that Sasori was still trying to clean up. Taking a quick glance at his partner, Orochimaru fetched out a small, tattered scroll and unsealed a glass vial, into which he scraped the precious drops of Sasori's blood before stoppering the vial and sealing it up again.

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><p>Orochimaru, consumed of late as he had been by his ambition to collect genetic material from every one of his teammates, was startled to discover that he had already been part of Akatsuki for several years, long enough to make him feel slightly superior when Sasori mentioned to him that there would soon be new member joining their ranks. Superior, as least, until he saw who the newest member was, saw him walk in wearing his new black and red robe zipped all the way up past his chin so that the collar was just below his eyes. And what eyes! As soon as Orochimaru met those eyes of Itachi Uchiha's, he remembered that before he had joined Akatsuki he had long fantasized about recruiting one of the famous Uchiha clan to be his new host. And the reason was all in the eyes.<p>

Though Itachi treated Orochimaru to a look of dislike and mistrust every time he met his gaze, Orochimaru was unable to resist sneaking looks; such was the allure of the Sharingan.

Though Orochimaru had no use for Itachi as a new skin, he could certainly see the advantage of adding the might of the Uchiha clan doujutsu to his repertoire. However, Orochimaru soon grew frustrated with Itachi's wariness and guarded nature. Not once was there a chance for Orochimaru to salvage so much a drop of his blood, a strand of his hair, a sample of his sweat. Finally, Orochimaru knew that the only way he was leaving Akatsuki with Itachi's DNA was if he took it by force. And so he planned to finally leave Akatsuki for good. He may not be able to ensure that the process would be neat and painless, but he could at least ensure that it would be worthwhile.

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><p>Enraged, Orochimaru fell back before Itachi who straightened up slowly, surveying the Snake sannin coolly. "Give up," Itachi intoned quietly. "You will no longer be welcomed back into Akatsuki after this attack, and I know for certain you cannot return to the place where you were born. If you continue to struggle, you will fall before my Sharingan. Give up and depart intact."<p>

"Brave words, Itachi _Uchiha,_" Orochimaru spat, drawing out a kunai inside of his robe where Itachi couldn't track the movement. "But you forget, I've got decades of experience on you. And anyway I-" Orochimaru had been trying very hard to keep still, to not move or lean forward or, by any inflection suggest his plan, but the time had come for action. He launched himself forward, his hand, with its modified kunai, darting out, aimed straight for Itachi's right eye. Itachi backed up-moving, weaving from left to right. Doggedly, Orochimaru followed him, his hand darting back and forth like a snake following the movement of its charmer's pipe.

Itachi lashed out and caught Orochimaru in his shin with a chakra-enhanced kick: to great effect as Orochimaru was already leaning forward, throwing his center of balance off. Orochimaru collapsed, the aches and injuries from the beginning of the fight making themselves known to him. He was back on his feet in an instant, however, roaring, "Come here and I'll cut your optic nerve right _out!"_ Once again he plunged forward and once again Itachi fell back. Orochimaru wondered why he didn't Shunshin or Kawirimi. A moment later, he had his answer.

"Kamui," Itachi uttered, still backing away. To his horror, Orochimaru saw his precious kunai begin to warp and be sucked in by a rapidly expanding glassy black void. In one last ditch effort, Orochimaru lurched forward, throwing both his and Itachi's aim off by a few inches. He had only time to feel the kunai in his hand bite deep into the skin just to the right of Itachi's eye and graze his cheekbone before he lost feeling in that hand altogether. For a timeless moment, made throbbing and staticky by pain, he stared uncomprehendingly at the stump of his arm and then at his detached hand, halfway through its fall to the cobbles. He hastily stooped and caught it, cradling it in his good hand before it could hit the ground. Shooting a bleeding Itachi a look of pure malevolence, Orochimaru Kawirimi'ed away, trying not to collapse and trying not to pass out and trying not to drop that kunai, more precious than either of his hands….

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><p>Orochimaru woke up lying on his back. For a moment he thought it was nighttime and that the sky above him-he could tell by the freshness of the air and the inconsistent air pressure on his skin that he was still out of doors- was dark until he thought to open his eyes and discovered that it was only late afternoon. This fact was only registered in the back of his mind, though, because it took a backseat to the fact that there was someone leaning over him… a potential threat.<p>

Instinctively Orochimaru kicked out, catching the stranger in the gut. While the young man bent over struggling to breathe and trying not to vomit from the ferocity of the attack, Orochimaru sat up. Finding the modified kunai still in his hand, Orochimaru made haste to stow it away and draw out a more normal one. When the young man before him finally straightened up, Orochimaru was ready, his good hand shooting out to press the kunai to the young man's throat. He stopped moving immediately, though Orochimaru could feel him swallow nervously. He stared with wide blue eyes from behind a curtain of bright blonde hair. He really was awfully young. "Hands," Orochimaru rasped. "Show me your hands."

The young man slowly raised his hands to shoulder height, palms outward in the classic See-I'm-Not-Armed gesture. Orochimaru's eyes flickered to the palms of hands and then back to the boy's face, slightly confused.

The young man chuckled nervously, stopping when he felt the cold knife riding his Adam's apple. "Yeah, people always ask about the mouths when they first see my hands-un. Actually, it's a funny-" Orochimaru didn't wait for the rest of the chatty boy's sentence. Withdrawing the kunai from the boy's throat, he made haste to drop it point-down in the grass. While the boy's eyes automatically followed the falling knife, Orochimaru used his now-free hand to shut the boy up, clapping the heel of his open palm to the young man's temple, hard. The boy's eyes rolled back and he collapsed, out cold. Orochimaru stood to leave, though not before picking up his kunai and relieving the boy of a few of his long, blonde hairs. Even in his pained and weakened state, Orochimaru was a scientist at heart and not one to pass up a chance too good to miss.

* * *

><p>Orochimaru growled in annoyance. He would have to remember to invent a special, nasty punishment for that man who thought it would be amusing to give Orochimaru-sama a female skin to reside in for the next three years. Not that the body looked remotely female now that Orochimaru had managed to convert it to something closer to his own style. But the point was that the woman had, in life, had no particular skills useful to a skilled shinobi.<p>

This made it all the more urgent that Orochimaru begin work crafting his perfect host. He wanted it to be ready by the time his stay in his current skin was up. So he began to take in test subjects, shinobi, of course, being his preference. In a matter of months his call for test subjects seemed to spread like wildfire, passed on by word of mouth. In no time at all, people not only began to offer themselves and others of their villages to Orochimaru specifically for testing, but others, malcontents and missing-nin alike, began to cluster around Orochimaru, viewing him as a sort of demi-Kage and a leader in harsh times. Orochimaru, being a clever and practical man, despite his many faults and vices, saw all of these things and turned them to his advantage, forming the Village Hidden in the Sound, Otogakure, with himself as the leader. No only did this move supply him with a nigh-endless influx of willing test subjects, but it gave him power, status, recognition, and an army, things that seemed, to him, sure to show those weak shinobi of Konoha just whom they had banished all those years ago.

* * *

><p><em>No!<em> Orochimaru pressed his hands against the one-way glass. His slitted eyes flickered from monitor to monitor, from cot to cot. Just when he thought that an entire batch of test subjects was going to survive the first infusion, just when every last one of them had stabilized hours after the shots, suddenly their vitals were going haywire! Through the glass he could hear the disheartening noise of heart rate monitors flat-lining, one after the other. It was a noise he had heard all too often in the last few months. In his anger and frustration, Orochimaru pounded his fist against the glass before mentally composing himself and retiring to his study.

On his desk were two file reports Orochimaru had been avoiding reading for days. Slowly, he slid the first one toward him and opened it. On the inside was clipped a picture of one of Orochimaru's pet test subjects, Kimimaro Kaguya. Orochimaru flipped up the medical reports, hopeful in case they should contain good news about the sickly bone-user. The news was anything but good. Orochimaru's right-hand man and top medic Kabuto, a recent addition to Orochimaru's staff, had been working to cure the young Kaguya's mysterious illness since the bone-user had first arrived, but to no avail. Orochimaru slammed down the file. He did not want to read Kabuto's dismal predictions that 'the boy's condition may worsen with time, completely deteriorating by the time he reaches the age of fifteen.'

Orochimaru turned to the other file on his desk, sliding it toward him and flipping it open. Inside was a picture of the scowling face of Jugo, a tall, orange-haired boy who had arrived in Otogakure along with Kimimaro. Though his violent and unstable split personality rendered him unsuitable for possession, his talents and abilities were utterly desirable to Orochimaru. He had adopted the task of extracting the enzymes that caused Jugo's physical transformations as a side project to take his mind off of the long, depressing months of failing to have a single subject survive one of the DNA infusions. Orochimaru secretly hoped one day to be able to transfer Jugo's powers to all of his soldiers, minus the deranged personality, of course.

Orochimaru flipped Jugo's file closed and pushed it away from him, settling down in his chair. Little though he wanted to, his forced himself to think on the day's experiments. _Another batch dead. Oh, why are all of my shinobi so _weak_? Why is everyone always _failing me?_ I need to come up with a solution to this, and soon. _Orochimaru rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes. Finally, after several minutes of sitting in silence, he called in Kabuto.

When the silver-haired, bespectacled boy entered the room, he hastily dropped down on one knee in the style of the old legionaries. Orochimaru swiveled his chair so it faced the door and Kabuto. "Stand up, Kabuto," Orochimaru said. Kabuto hastened to do as he bid. _Good boy, Kabuto,_ Orochimaru thought grudgingly. _Got a good mind for medical jutsu and a keen interest in the scientific side of everything. Reminds me of me, a bit. Still, if he has no good news, this confrontation may not be very good for his health._ "What do you have to tell me, Kabuto?" Orochimaru asked.

Kabuto, perhaps hearing the note of warning in Orochimaru's voice, avoided his slitted gaze. "I have nothing new to report, Orochimaru-sama," he mumbled.

"You see, Kabuto, I've been working on this project for months, trying to create the perfect host. You should know. You've been on and off that project for as long as you've worked for me."

"Yes, I am aware, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto pushed up his glasses to disguise how his hands were trembling.

"Well, you would have thought, wouldn't you, that by now we'd be seeing some results. But no." Orochimaru brought his hand down on a pile of file folders in a tray on his desk. "Every single one of my test subjects thus far has died, Kabuto. I am running out of time and patience. You'd better start making suggestions fast, or I may just begin to take a serious look at _you_ with your regeneration techniques."

Kabuto's eyes widened for the briefest of moments behind his glasses. He attempted to speak but only a harsh croak escaped his lips. He had to lick the sweat from his lip and clear his throat. Despite these measures, his voice was shaky with terror. Orochimaru approved.

"As it so happens, Orochimaru-sama, I believe I may have a possible solution to you problem."

Orochimaru leaned forward, instantly riveted. "Choose your words very carefully, Kabuto, as they could either save or condemn you."

Kabuto acknowledged this. "Hai, Orochimaru-sama. It has come to me that, as your problem is that you cannot find one with a body strong enough or perhaps DNA stable enough to accommodate additions to their genetic code, what you really need is someone with a power that will literally not allow them to die."

"What you say sounds promising," Orochimaru admitted, "But I hope for your sake that you have something a bit more specific in mind, something more than pure postulation."

"I do, Orochimaru-sama. What I have for you is a name." Kabuto pushed up his glasses once more and the light on the desk behind Orochimaru danced on the round lenses, causing them to turn briefly opaque, momentarily occluding Kabuto's eyes. "The name I have… is Naruto Uzumaki."

Orochimaru sat bolt upright in his chair, hands clutching the arms hard, nails biting into the wood as if they were hooked talons. _The Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki!_

* * *

><p>AN: And so the very first chapter of my first challenge fic draws to a close, leaving the audience breathless for more! Haha. There are several things I would like to draw your attention to at this point, if you would be so kind as to allow me a few moments of your attention.

-This chapter was mostly setup, as this fic will require quite a bit of that, so it wasn't all that humorous. Rest assured that the rest of the fic will be rather more so.

-This is M-rated, not for any specific reason, but because I want to be sure I'm all covered in case something should crop up later on...

-This challenge comes from the profile page of the author dracohalo117 and he gave me permission to take it up.

-Any similarities between this story and any of the other stories written from the same challenge, primarily those belonging to Thanathos and Arynia, will you please disregard, as those ideas belong to them and their amazing stories and I merely borrowed certain aspects (yes, I asked permission) while other parts may be pure coincidence.

-This is not my first fic, so i will be writing both this challenge fic and my original Naruto fic, A little Insanity is good for the Soul, at the same time, hopefully alternating updating chapters between the two of them.

-Please be aware that in this fic, Naruto will be very powerful- the parameters of the challenge pretty much ensure that- but he is still a kid and I will try my best to avoid making him overpowered.

-Something I learned from doing the extensive research required for this chapter- While I admire Kishimoto (Naruto is a pretty complex series, in my opinion) he didn't exactly make all of his dates and ages and timings match up in canon... so bear in mind I'll be wrestling with that while i write.

-One last thing- Kabuto's prediction about Kimimaro dying by the age of 15- well, he did. (Or so the Naruto Wiki informs me...)

-Okay, so maybe I lied and _this_ is the last thing... could you please see your way to leave me a Review? Thank you. Until next time!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, this challenge belongs to dracohalo117, any themes or ideas that appear in either Thanathos' or Arynia's Perfection fics belong to them respectively and whatever is left belongs to me.

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><p>Naruto sat on the swing-seat, legs dangling and head hanging. <em>Hey, it's not so bad. You started going to the academy when you were two years younger than everyone else, so it's no wonder they all have chakra control two years ahead of yours! You can always try again next year…. <em>Naruto twisted the swing around until the tightly wound ropes cut and burned his arms. Then he let go, whirling around for a few seconds before he put his feet down, scuffing, dragging his sandals on the hard, packed dirt under the tree, throwing up clouds of dust. _But I don't want to have to do a whole other year of classes to become a shinobi!_

There was a throat-clearing noise behind him. Naruto jumped and twisted around in the seat, nearly slipping backwards off of the swing. In the large, dappled shade that the tree above was casting stood Mizuki-sensei, and he had a proposition for Naruto. The ten-year-old boy didn't quite understand what Mizuki meant by these 'tests' he was being considered for, but he did understand that Mizuki was offering him specialized, one-on-one training with a group located outside of Konoha such as the type that would make him a powerful shinobi in no time.

"Are you willing to try it, Naruto?" Mizuki asked, a smile twisting his cruel mouth. Naruto nodded vehemently. "Then come with me at once so I can prepare you for your journey. Don't worry about Hokage-sama," Mizuki said as Naruto opened his mouth to comment on the abruptness of the decision, "I will inform him of where you have gone. Who knows, when you come back in a few years, you may find that Hokage-sama recognizes you to be strong enough to make chunin. After these tests, there will be no question whatsoever that you are ready to make genin at the very least." Well, what could Naruto do? Mizuki had said the magic words.

Naruto hopped down from the swing and followed Mizuki some distance, soon leaving the familiar, looming shape of the shinobi academy behind and travelling through the heart of the market district. Before too long they were out in the outskirts of the village, where broken glass and stray papers littered the ground and the buildings were of the narrow, crowded, choked-looking brick variety that Naruto found rather displeasing, as it reminded him a bit of the district where his own apartment was located, all grimy windows and broken streetlights. Naruto vaguely wondered why they had had to walk so far, but his queries were mostly eclipsed by the unexpected turn his life had just made, and sheer excitement kept bursting through his creeping doubts.

Mizuki had turned down a broad, deserted side street and Naruto stepped up behind him, rounding the corner to find that Mizuki had turned to face the mouth of the side street and with it, Naruto, who wasted no time approaching his sensei. Mizuki crouched down, placing his eye level slightly below Naruto's though he avoided looking the blonde-haired boy in the eye, one hand taking hold of Naruto's forearm and the other fumbling for something in his pocket, still smiling, always smiling, so coldly, so insincerely. "Now hold still, Naruto," Mizuki said, pulling back Naruto's sleeve and, before the boy could protest, expertly injecting him with a thin, clear liquid.

Naruto stared in horror, horror at Mizuki and at himself. All his life, he had constantly been taught and retaught not to trust anyone. He should have listened to his doubts! And now he was going to die of some terrible poison at the hands of his sensei! Naruto swayed, eyes unfocused, and collapsed. Mizuki scooped up the unconscious boy and stood waiting until he saw a shadow flicker down at the end of the street. He strode over to meet the robed, bespectacled figure.

"Well done, Mizuki. Orochimaru-sama will be most pleased with your work."

"Thank you, Kabuto-san," Mizuki said, handing the sleeping child over. "What are my new orders?"

"Remain here, undercover, until you next receive instruction," Kabuto said, adjusting Naruto's limp form on his shoulder and concealing him in a fold of his cloak. He gave Mizuki a brief nod and left, taking Naruto with him.

* * *

><p>Naruto awoke slowly, groggy and confused. The bed he was lying on was too hard and the light shining in his face too bright. Naruto sat up and slid off of the high table, blinking the dazzle out of his smarting eyes and looking around him. Young though he was, Naruto could recognize a hospital room when he saw one, and this room, with its harsh lighting, operating table, and scrubbed tiling seemed like a bizarre mixture of hospital and autopsy lab, both of which Naruto had previously had the displeasure to experience in his short life within the confines of the walls of Konoha.<p>

There was a large sheet of dark mirror set into one wall, no doubt a one-way window for observing what was happening in _this_ room from the safety and relative comfort of an adjoining room, like the ones they used in the Torture and Interrogation department. Naruto went over to that mirror and tapped on it, reasoning that he wouldn't be in a room with a one-way mirror if no one were watching him. "Hello?" he called tentatively.

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><p>In the next room, Orochimaru watched as his new host sat up and looked around. "Take a look, Kabuto. This is the start of your newest fulltime project." He clapped Kabuto on the shoulder. "Congratulations." Kabuto noticed that the Snake sannin seemed in unusually good spirits.<p>

Kabuto dubiously watched the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy as he looked around the spartan room. "From what I've been told, the boy is practically illiterate," he said.

"Well, if your plan of depending on the Kyuubi to keep young Naruto alive comes to nothing, it won't matter. Why don't you go and prepare him for his first infusion?"

Kabuto was startled. "So soon, Orochimaru-sama?"

Orochimaru shrugged, smiling playfully as he watched Naruto approach the tinted one-way-mirror. "If he doesn't survive the first operation, there's no need to train him," Orochimaru pointed out. "If he does survive it, _then_ you may begin to bring him up to speed. Teach him to read first, I think. That will make your job easier in the future."

Kabuto strode to the exit of the room but did not open the door yet. His hand resting on the doorknob, he turned back to look at Orochimaru. "The boy will undoubtedly have questions. What do I tell him?"

"Anything you want. Just do not tell him my eventual plans for him or what exactly the experiments we will be performing on him consist of." Kabuto nodded and turned to the door, but stopped as Orochimaru spoke one last time. "Oh, and Kabuto, don't tell him about the Kyuubi. We'll have to let him know eventually, but all in good time."

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto left, shutting the door behind him with a quiet, respectful click. Orochimaru shifted his gaze back to the window, a smile manifesting on his pale face when Naruto jumped as the door to the operation room was unlocked and pushed open.

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><p>Naruto started around as there was the loud click of a lock turning over, and the door was pushed inwards. A boy entered. He was tall and looked to be around fifteen, old, from Naruto's perspective, but nowhere near as old as Jiji. He wore his mid-length silver hair tied back and round glasses perched on his nose. When he spotted Naruto standing by the mirror, he smiled. Naruto wasn't entirely sure he liked that smile. "Who are you?" Naruto asked accusatorially. "Where am I? What happened to Mizuki?"<p>

"I am Kabuto Yakushi, and this one of the labs of my master. Mizuki works for the same man as I do and remained in Konoha while we brought you here."

"Why did you take me here?" Naruto asked, backing up as Kabuto tried to approach him.

"You agreed to perform a couple of tests for us in exchange for us training you to be a great shinobi," Kabuto explained.

"What kind of tests?" Naruto asked suspiciously. However, at the mention of the tests that Mizuki had spoken of, he took a step forward in spite of himself. Encouraged, Kabuto leaned against the edge of the operating table on which Naruto had awoken and patted the surface, inviting Naruto to sit up on it. Naruto did so, perching himself on the edge as far away from Kabuto as he could get.

"These tests are nothing special, maybe a few new vitamin supplements every couple of months," Kabuto said casually. "Probably nothing immediately noticeable will happen, but it can't hurt."

"Why me?" Naruto asked.

Kabuto was growing weary of the incessant questions, but he kept the smile grafted onto his smooth, pale face so as not to alert the boy. "We are interested in you. You have incredible chakra reserves and your healing rate gives you great potential as a shinobi. We only recently discovered you through Mizuki and we want to see you trained right."

For the first time, Naruto stopped focusing entirely on being wary and began expending a bit of his mind to taking interest in what was happening to him. "What will you teach me?"

Kabuto waved a finger at Naruto. "Not yet; that would be telling. And you just got here! There are some preliminary tests we'd like to perform on you before I begin to teach you anything. Nothing of the pass-or-fail variety, I just want to know a bit more about your current skills and limitations before I begin." Kabuto pulled a vial out of his pocket and a small glass out of another. He quickly decanted the liquid from the vial into the glass and handed it to Naruto. "Please drink this."

Naruto sniffed the drink suspiciously, but was unable to detect any but a slight, oily, waxy, scent. It didn't smell like anything dangerous that Naruto had ever drunk before, so he downed it in one swallow. Kabuto quickly slid the glass out of Naruto's slack fingers and laid him face up on the operating table so he wouldn't topple off from his perch on the edge. He ignored the accusing look on Naruto's face as the boy once again fell unconscious.

* * *

><p>The door opened and Orochimaru entered, stepping to Kabuto's side and looking down into Naruto's sleeping face. "Well done. Prepare the first infusion and we'll give it to him immediately."<p>

Kabuto walked over to one of the counters along the wall and took out a key. Unlocking a wall-mounted cabinet, he swung open the door to reveal racks of samples and experimental infusions that did not require refrigeration. The more unstable solutions would not have been kept in the room where a valuable test subject was left to resurface from a drugged sleep. Kabuto reached up, gloved fingers hovering before the racks of vials. "Which one, Orochimaru-sama?"

Orochimaru hesitated for no more than a heartbeat. "Konan's DNA first, I think. He can't do much harm with it, and if his body can't handle turning from flesh to paper and back, you'll soon see and know if we ought to scrap this project and start over with someone new." Orochimaru gave Kabuto a meaningful look.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto's fingers closed around a slim, glass vial and lifted it out of the rack, swinging the cabinet door to and locking it before returning to Orochimaru with the vial. Earlier he had, through methodical trial and error using normal paper, come upon a way to convert paper into a liquid form that it was possible to inoculate one with. Kabuto handed the vial to Orochimaru and, while Kabuto hooked Naruto up to various apparatuses that would monitor Naruto's heart rate, brain patterns, breathing rate, chakra levels, and the like, Orochimaru loaded the solution into a hypodermic needle. When Naruto was all set up- Kabuto had even gone so far as to strap him to the table- Orochimaru approached the boy, holding the needle.

He injected the infusion directly into the main ulnar artery in Naruto's right arm. No sooner than he had removed the needle, the chamber empty, the prick-mark closed up before single drop of blood could spill, healing without so much as a lingering scar. _That Youki is useful stuff,_ Orochimaru mused, stepping away from the table. _Too bad I shall probably have to extract the Kyuubi from the boy before I can claim possession of his skin. _He disposed of the used needle and gave Kabuto strict instructions to watch Naruto, to keep him sedated until his vitals had returned to normal, and, if he was still alive at that point, to then move him to the room that had been prepared for him. If and when he woke naturally in the new room, he was to be fed. At that point, Kabuto was to use his judgment about when to begin Naruto's lessons, though he was not to begin teaching Naruto to use the powers that his new DNA would hopefully grant him. Those lessons would begin only with Orochimaru's express orders.

* * *

><p>Kabuto sat by Naruto for most of the next few days, watching the various monitors and, every so often, injecting another dose of sedative, spacing the doses so that the Kyuubi never had enough time to burn off the last batch before the newest amount was injected. At first, Naruto's vitals had all but shut down, his breathing had slowed until the rise and fall of his chest was barely visible and his heart rate had slowed so much that Kabuto was constantly on tenterhooks as to whether the next tiny rise in the flat line on the monitor would ever come. His brain activity had become erratic as well, sometimes there would be hours of nothing but the normal, automatic commands and signals, telling the heart to pump and the lungs to breathe and the like, but not much else, save for an occasional dream spike. At other times, there would be endless minutes of feverish activity, flurries of spikes and blips in the monitors, though for the most part he was quiet.<p>

After the first two or three days, however, Naruto became constantly restless; he would mumble long streams of nonsense syllables and his breath would come harder until he was gasping and panting and Kabuto could see his eyelids twitching in REM sleep. During those times, his brain activity was that of one who is alert, albeit of one who has been awake for far too long on nowhere near enough sleep and is being asked to perform strenuous mental calisthenics.

At long last, after nearly six days, Naruto settled down. From the monitors and Naruto's still form, from the steady rising and falling of his chest, Kabuto deduced that the storm had finally passed and it was time to wake up the subject. He unhooked all of the monitors, carefully shutting them off as he did so. He then picked up Naruto's limp form and carried him out of the room and into a nearby room that had specially prepared for him. Kabuto then retired, closing the door behind him quietly so as not wake up the blonde boy, who had passed smoothly from drug-induced unconsciousness to true sleep as seamlessly as one normally does from standing to sitting. Kabuto retreated the room adjacent to Naruto's, to which the former was connected via a one-way mirrored window so that Kabuto would see the moment when Naruto woke up, and perhaps get some rest until then.

* * *

><p>Naruto awoke and sat up immediately. He felt very slightly achy all over, but the feeling soon dissipated and he forgot the unusual sensation entirely. He took a look around the room he was in. There was one door, which was, when Naruto tried it, locked. On the wall opposite the door was another blank expanse of tinted, mirrored glass. The low bunk that he had woken up in was pushed against the wall located to the right of the one with the mirror on it. All in all, the room was about the size of his old apartment back in Konoha, with a dirty, tiled floor.<p>

"I know the drill," Naruto muttered to himself as he walked up to the tinted mirror. "Hey!" he said, pounding on the window, "Let me out! Everyone in here is dead!"

Naruto listened attentively, smiling in appreciation when he heard first one crash, muffled as it was by walls and distance, and then another as the door to the room burst open and Kabuto appeared, kunai in hand, ready for trouble.

"What was that?" he asked tightly. Naruto could see that the older boy was a bit short on sleep and patience.

Naruto chuckled. He had once yelled the same thing as he just had when he had the misfortune to be locked in the boy's bathroom back in the academy. They had gotten him out quickly enough, but he had had to endure a lecture right after by one of his least favorite senseis. "Do you have anything to eat?" he asked.

Kabuto stowed the kunai in a holster and stood, smoothing back his hair with one hand, collecting his thoughts. "Yes, of course," He said after a moment. He left the room, returning a minute later with a tray bearing a bowl of broth, a small loaf of bread, a couple of apples and a glass and pitcher of water. Naruto fell on the food, practically inhaling it before Kabuto's bemused eyes. "What now?" he asked, placing an apple core in the empty bowl.

"Now you sit down and tell me how you feel," Kabuto said seriously.

Naruto thought it was a strange request, after all, he didn't remember anything between when he fell asleep in that other room and awoke in this one, but answered impatiently, without sitting down, "I'm fine. Can we start training?"

Kabuto raised an eyebrow at Naruto's eagerness. "If you feel up to it, fine. Come with me." Naruto obediently followed as Kabuto led him out into the hallway and through the rambling passages until he stopped before a door, unremarkable in its similarity to all the others they had passed on the way. Kabuto unlocked the door and ushered Naruto through before quickly following and locking the door securely behind him. It seemed that Kabuto was an avid locker of things.

Naruto looked around at the shelves upon shelves rising up to the ceiling all around him, each one packed to overflowing with scrolls and books. "I don't get it. You're going to train me in a library?" Naruto had never had much use for libraries and was disappointed in Kabuto's choice of venue.

"In a manner of speaking. Sit down, Naruto," Kabuto said, sliding into a low chair situated beside the nearest table.

Reluctantly, Naruto joined him, sprawling in the seat and giving Kabuto his best sarcastic stare. Kabuto, pretending not to see, pulled forward a couple of books that had been neatly stacked on the corner of the table.

"What, you're going to teach me to read or something?" Naruto asked disgustedly.

"Yes. It's all part of the intensive training program you're on. You have to start at the beginning and learn the basics first, before we teach you the advanced jutsu. This isn't the academy, where they constantly push gifted students ahead before they have time to get a proper grounding in everything one is supposed to learn in the academy about being a shinobi," Kabuto said sternly.

"Don't waste your time," Naruto said scornfully, "I already know how to read."

"Oh yes?" Kabuto said, in a voice that was just not a snap, his patience wearing thin. "Read this for me." Kabuto slid a book, a medical textbook, out from the pile, thumbed through until he reached a page that had been marked with a narrow strip of paper, and pushed it across the table at Naruto.

Naruto stared down at the incomprehensible wording and language, at the footnotes and variables and Latin phrases. After a few minutes, he glanced up at Kabuto, who was watching him closely with an expression that showed that he didn't know whether to be smug or sympathetic.

"Well?" Kabuto prompted him. "Can you read it?"

"I did read it," Naruto said on a sudden flash of inspiration.

"What?"

"I read it in my head."

Naruto didn't even see Kabuto move, but the next moment, his right arm was being twisted up behind his back excruciatingly and he was leaning forward, his nose almost touching the tabletop to try and take some of the agonizing pressure off of his arm, the muscles of which were screaming for release. "Do not lie to me," Kabuto said in a low voice. "I am trying to give you the kind of basic training you should have gotten years ago, but I cannot help you if you do not cooperate with me." Kabuto released Naruto, who sat back and flexed his arm, already feeling the viciously strained and torn muscles flex and reattach, though they would still ache for another quarter of an hour at least.

Kabuto, already seated once again in his chair on the other side of the table, turned to a few pages before the one that had been bookmarked so that the book was open at the beginning of a chapter. "Do attend," Kabuto said, slightly mockingly, in Naruto's opinion. The blonde-haired boy glowered. "If you allow me to teach you the basics, like reading and chakra control, early on, it paves the way for me to teach you more advanced jutsu and techniques later on; maybe not even that much later on if you just pay attention now."

"Do I really have a choice here?" Naruto asked, rubbing his upper arm.

"Not really, although your attitude and compliance will dictate how much, if any, pressure I exert on you in order to gain your cooperation." Naruto's blue eyes flicked back and forth between Kabuto's black eyes, unsure what to make of the older boy. There was a gleam in Kabuto's eyes and the merest suggestion of a smile around the serious mouth, signs that Naruto's common sense told him he should not test, as they were those of a mind that would come unhinged if presented with the wrong set of answers and should, therefore, be obeyed, at least for the time being.

Naruto gave a long, reluctant sigh. "Alright then. If it means I can learn new jutsu sooner, let's just get this over with." So Kabuto began to teach Naruto, letting him practice reading the medical journals and textbooks. Naruto's recognition and inference skills increased at a truly startling pace, and it was no more than a week before Kabuto was almost forced to ask why Naruto had barely been able to read before if he naturally learned so incredibly swiftly.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "It's hard to learn fast when the teacher has a class of more than thirty kids and you're the youngest one. My senseis couldn't slow it down for me to let me catch up or teach me one-on-one," he said, considering.

"Nonsense. You're a natural; it's not possible that that's the only reason," _Unless it is some effect of the Kyuubi objecting to us tampering with Naruto's DNA. Or maybe it's simply that I'm an even better teacher than Orochimaru-sama thought I was._

"Well, I guess being forced to leave the classroom and sit out in the hallway at least three or four times a week, sometimes for hours at a time, may not have helped," Naruto admitted, oblivious to Kabuto's private conjectures.

Kabuto pushed his round glasses up on his nose, giving Naruto a smile that actually held a modicum of genuine pleasure, for a wonder. " Your progress is advancing at a sufficient pace, meaning that it's time I began training you to control your chakra a bit better." _Though, hopefully, his chakra control will improve once we give him the puppet-user's DNA, meaning I won't have to rely on him grasping this on his own. From what I was told, his chakra control is almost as abysmal as his literacy was, though, unlike reading, this most likely won't be a thing he'll be able to just pick up naturally without working at it._

* * *

><p>Naruto's eyes were crossed from staring at the leaf that rested on his forehead. Kabuto sighed in exasperation. "Don't you know how to channel chakra to different parts of your body?" Kabuto asked.<p>

Naruto shook his head, momentarily forgetting the leaf and quickly catching it before it could flutter to the floor. "Cut me some slack; I'm just a kid," Naruto said, a slight edge to his voice. He did not like it when Kabuto made it sound like Naruto should have been born knowing things that he had never been taught, as if Naruto were somehow inferior or substandard.

Kabuto opened his mouth to reply, but paused, realizing he had been about to start a sentence with 'When I was your age,' which would not have been received well. Instead, he said, "I cannot cut you any slack. To do so would be to belittle your prospects as a shinobi."

"No, to do so would be to cut me a little slack and actually teach and show me instead of just lecturing. It would be more use," Naruto countered, tilting his head back once more to balance the leaf on his forehead.

Naruto actually made a fair point, though Kabuto would never admit it, and so the silver-haired boy resigned himself to explaining the basics of chakra systems and flow patterns, tenketsu, and how to channel chakra without using a handseal to mold it. It took a good hour or so to give Naruto a basic sketch of everything he wanted to know, even though the boy seemed only to have to hear a thing once in order to commit it to memory. The entire time that Kabuto spoke, Naruto stared at the leaf between his eyes. He was actually trying to follow the instructions that Kabuto gave him as the silver-haired boy gave them to him, trying to guess the next step before Kabuto could outline it in his quiet, precise voice.

When he had, for the most part, finished speaking, Kabuto leaned against the wall, watching Naruto struggle and making comments and suggestions, which he thought of as helpful rather than irritating.

Meanwhile, Naruto was definitely starting to develop a headache, what with trying to focus his chakra through a point on his face that he couldn't even see and keeping his head tipped back, and staring at something right between his eyes, and trying to recall how Kabuto had said to do it, and trying to simultaneously heed Kabuto's comments and block out their more distracting and downright irritating aspects…. Finally, Kabuto left, telling Naruto to knock on the door, which was, of course, locked from the outside, when he was finished for the day.

Naruto let his aching neck relax as his head fell forward. He didn't even bother catching the leaf as it spiraled to the tiled floor. _I know it can be done, and I know that I won't be taken any farther until I master this, so I'll just have to keep practicing. Maybe I'm concentrating too much on focusing the chakra. Maybe Kabuto's skipping a step without realizing it. Maybe I have to be able to channel a lot of chakra before I can work it down to something smaller that I can control. In which case, why do I have to start with my head?_

Naruto sat down, leaning his stiff back against the wall as he crossed his legs. The smooth wall seemed to be doing his neck and back some good, as he barely felt the soreness at all now, and his headache was almost gone. Naruto cupped his hands together, supporting the right one in his left and resting them in his lap, holding the leaf. Naruto closed his eyes and anxiously searched himself all over for his core, for the center of his chakra system, the chakra coils, as Kabuto had explained to him. He found them, a sort of pulsing of energy, not unlike a heartbeat, around the vicinity of his navel. And, again like a heartbeat or pulse, he could almost trace its path by the pressure and energy it brought throughout his body. However, the sensation was so faint that he couldn't be more than half sure that the pathways were really there at all, that he wasn't projecting upon himself sensations that he hoped and expected to feel.

_Oh, what the hell, it's worth a shot,_ He thought. Carefully, he imagined drawing the energy from his core, forcing it through a network of paths no wider than threads until it pooled in the palm of his right hand. A slight smile flickered across Naruto's face as he noticed the leaf flutter and lift slightly, as though it was sitting on top of a puddle of water. Sitting there long enough to get the technique to work had not taken very long by anyone's standards, but Naruto was renowned for his hyperactivity, and while some if it was an act, a front, and just a bit of it had been ironed out of him already during his brief stay in Orochimaru's hospitalities, Naruto still preferred moving to sitting still, and got up to pace, wishing that he was already proficient enough to practice leaf-floating as he moved.

* * *

><p>A few days later, the leaf once again perched on his forehead, Naruto screwed up his eyes. A strong gust of chakra, so saturated that Naruto could practically smell, it, lifted the leaf a good five inches into the air and held it there for a split second, before it tumbled, flipping end over end until it slid to rest on the smooth tiles.<p>

Kabuto surveyed Naruto critically. "You're wasting far too much chakra," he commented, uncrossing his arms and stepping forward from where he leaned against the wall in order to pick up the fallen leaf. "Your chakra is spraying out in all directions. The whole point of chakra control is to focus that energy into a single point and direct in that way. Thus," Kabuto stripped off one of his gloves, laying the leaf on the exposed palm and, in a moment, sending the leaf spinning toward the ceiling. As it fell, Kabuto caught it, having had time to pull his glove back on, and offered the leaf to Naruto with a courtly bow. Naruto resisted the urge to break the silver-haired boy's glasses.

It was another week before Naruto could float the leaf above his head at a constant height of three inches for minutes on end. In the process of learning to do that, he had also learned to float the same leaf above each of his hands, though it took him a few seconds longer to get the leaf aloft above his left hand than it did his right. He was starting to hate that leaf, seriously and personally.

While he was struggling with that, Kabuto began to train him physically as well and assigning Naruto passages to read each night. Naruto would normally have been of the opinion that the work load was worse than that of the academy, but to his mild surprise, he found that he was quite enjoying all of it. Even the reading material was interesting, though he still had to refer to the lexicon that Kabuto had supplied him with, so that the reading assignments took longer than usual, as Naruto was actually trying to piece together the words and understand them. Some of them were myths and stories about the bijuu and some were scientific and medical journals. Some spoke of chakra theory in such a way that Naruto no longer wondered why Kabuto had been so condescending when he had discovered how poor Naruto's chakra control was. Naruto resolved to begin improving fast enough to make Kabuto seriously worried about his own status as a proficient chakra-user.

The physical part of Naruto's training was even more interesting, consisting of everything from flexibility to brute strength, from aiming projectiles to strategy. Here, when Kabuto found that Naruto had more-or-less perfected leaf floating, he began to introduce chakra to the physical training. Almost the first thing on his list to teach to Naruto was to sick to surfaces using chakra.

At first, he went about it the traditional way, showing Naruto how to channel chakra through his feet and his ninja sandals, and then how to adhere that chakra to vertical surfaces, creating a bond that could support weight. Naruto wasn't very good at waiting for his chakra to bond firmly, and consequently would often try to put weight on a foot that was barely stuck onto the wall at all, resulting in a lot of flailing and quality time with the floor. Kabuto, impatient with these results, devised a new way of doing things.

* * *

><p>"Climb!" Kabuto yelled, loosing a hail of shuriken. Naruto scrambled up as fast as he could, zigzagging up the vertical surface as though it was nothing more than a flat parquet floor. The first few times Kabuto had done this, Naruto had gotten pierced quite a lot, mostly in the back, as he struggled to make his chakra bond, but he had soon gotten better both at dodging and sticking. As he raced across the ceiling, he reflected drily that the least Kabuto could have done would be to give Naruto a kunai or shuriken to deflect the projectiles.<p>

No sooner than Naruto had developed a rough grasp of sticking to surfaces, than Kabuto began showing Naruto how to enhance his muscles with chakra, prolonging how long Naruto could run or fight or how far he could jump. Naruto though this was a bit sadistic and underhanded, as it gave Kabuto an excuse to train Naruto for hours on end each day, insisting that Naruto perform complicated manuvers and exercises daily, building up strength and chakra reserves alike and only allowing him one day off a week for pure study without any physical enterprises. Naruto would spar with Kabuto, taking to the walls and ceiling to avoid the older boy's wild attacks and projectiles. When they were locked in those brief flurries of close combat, not once did Naruto emerge victorious. Always he was distracted by Kabuto's illusory clones or by Kabuto's use of chakra scalpels or the kind of ninja tools that Naruto was never supplied with.

It wasn't long before Kabuto began talking about teaching Naruto how to make clones of his own or to henge, or even to kawirimi, things, as the silver-haired boy pointed out, that any academy graduate could do. "But before I start you on any of those jutsu, I have something else in mind," Kabuto said.

Naruto looked up from the book in his lap, legs out straight on his bed, it being his day off. "What do you want, Kabuto?" Naruto asked. He had quickly discovered that it did no good to be polite to Kabuto, as the older boy did not seem to care one way or the other if Naruto was rude. In fact, from time to time Naruto got the impression that the older boy like being stood up to- liked a challenge. Not at the moment, though, it seemed.

"I have a visitor for you. She's going to be training you in a very specific form of jutsu, but before you meet her, I need you to come with me. You're due for another test."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, not stirring an inch. He could recognize the bribe; cooperate and take the test and not only learn a new jutsu, learn it from someone other than Kabuto. "Test?" he asked innocently.

"Remember that you are only here to be trained on the condition that you take these tests for us, Naruto," Kabuto said pleasantly, though with an undertone that suggested trouble if Naruto was to try and pretend otherwise.

Naruto sighed, dropping the book onto the mattress, which creaked as he swung himself off, ready to follow Kabuto. Kabuto waited until Naruto was out in the hallway before joining him and locking the door behind. Naruto followed Kabuto back to the room where he had first woken up, the room with the shiny, metal table.

By now, Naruto knew enough about rudimentary medicine to recognize it as an operating room, a surprisingly underequipped one, too, unless all of the necessary tools and materials were securely shut away behind the cabinet doors or locked in the drawers. As a result, he was even more wary than the first time this had happened when Kabuto handed him a glass and told him to drink. He couldn't remember drinking anything like it before- the result of a mild anesthetic mixed in, though he wasn't to know that- but he had an inkling from the substance's scent that this didn't bode well. However, Naruto, foolish though it was, trusted Kabuto not to poison him after all the training the older boy had put his way, though he did find his blue eyes straying to the tinted mirror set into the wall. He looked away with a shiver of misplaced memories and half-recollections. Hadn't this happened before? If so, why didn't he remember more clearly? His head swam.

"Drink it, Naruto," Kabuto insisted. And Naruto, against his better judgment, did as he was told.

Kabuto once again rescued the glass before it could smash and scooped Naruto up, laying him out on the table and securely strapping him down before busying himself hooking the supine boy up to the various monitors and meters. Kabuto paused for the briefest moment in his preparations, gloved fingers light and tense on the boy's wrist, listening, giving the smallest of satisfied smiles when he heard the door behind him swing open, when he saw a pale blur of a man reflected in the tinted mirror on the wall directly in front of him. Schooling his expression, Kabuto once again returned to the task of preparing the boy as Orochimaru came up beside him and looked down into the face of the sleeping boy.

"I have read your reports and projections, Kabuto, and must say that the first month of this project has been progressing admirably under your command."

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama. Which one this time?"

Orochimaru drew a small vial of watery purple liquid from his pocket; clearly the sample had been treated and diluted since Kabuto had last seen it. For a moment, Orochimaru held up the vial, eyes flickering between it and the sleeping face of the boy. Finally, he handed the vial to Kabuto. "Start training him to manipulate puppets, but do not tell him what kind of puppets he's working up to. Keep him reading medical texts, if you can. It will be very useful if he can create a puppet before I can possess him, as his chakra will then already be familiar with it and his muscles adapted to puppet work. But no human puppets too soon- we don't want to break his spirit this early. That would lead to complications. See to it." He left.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto muttered, as the door swung closed. He proceeded to see to it, priming the needle. _I told Orochimaru-sama that this blood would most likely improve the boy's chakra control, which is still painful to consider, but I'm not entirely sure that will be the case. Of course there may also be some mental ramifications, but mostly I suspect that Orochimaru-sama just skipped to the part of my report that talked about the boy's puppet abilities._

The deed at hand completed, Kabuto sat down to monitor Naruto's vitals, mostly focusing on the brain patterns and chakra levels. _Meanwhile, assuming this transfusion will be as much of a success as the last one, the boy will have two powers that he's not being told about. Dangerous. At least he won't have to wonder about this one, since I'll be teaching him to manipulate puppets at first. Perhaps it would be beneficial to have him build the wooden puppets he'll be practicing with. Then he'll have something to practice sealing on, too. _Kabuto believed in killing two birds with one jutsu.

When Naruto came-to, he was once again in his bed and, once again, ravenously hungry. He made to get out of bed, but his knees seemed like they had forgotten which way they were supposed to bend. _How long was I out?_ Naruto wondered. It wasn't too long before he was able to totter to the window, tapping on the mirrored glass. Kabuto answered the unceremonious summons, bringing with him a welcome change of clothing and an even more welcome tray of food. Naruto attacked it as only one who has been truly hungry before could understand.

When he was finished, Kabuto held out a hand for the tray, which Naruto handed him. "Get dressed now, and when you're ready, I'll introduce you to someone you may be interested to meet."

Kabuto paused, one foot outside the door, as Naruto, who had not spoken since he had woken up, croaked a question. "Will I be meeting your master?" Kabuto didn't often speak of his elusive master, but never had he mentioned the man's name, Naruto noticed, and whenever the silver-haired boy spoke of the man, it was with a note of reverence in his tone.

"No, Naruto. It is not yet time for you to meet my master. That time won't be for a while. Probably not until the end, in fact. For now, get dressed and when you're ready, you'll meet her, the woman who'll start to teach you a new jutsu." Kabuto left Naruto to scramble into the new clothes, which didn't take more than a minute.

As Kabuto still hadn't returned, Naruto decided to try leaf floating out of sheer boredom. He didn't actually have a leaf with him, but he had the thin strip of paper that he used as a bookmark. It should have been just as easy, but Naruto discovered that he couldn't shift the paper an inch. It lay in his hand, lifeless, useless.

When Kabuto reentered the room, Naruto was panicking slightly. He shook the strip of paper in Kabuto's bemused face the moment the older boy was close enough. Kabuto's first thought was _Oh shit, he's found out about what Konan's DNA allows him to do…_ Then it occurred to him to actually listen to what Naruto was half-screaming.

"What did you do? I can't float anything! You took away my chakra! How am I not dead? Tell me! Tell me!" Kabuto smacked Naruto.

"Get a grip on yourself. Your chakra is intact. We didn't do anything to you."

"Then why won't this work?" Naruto demanded, holding out the strip of paper as though it were damning evidence.

Kabuto signed, feigning regret. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice. With all of the jutsu you're being taught, my master deemed it prudent to prevent jutsu from being performed in this room."  
>"Why?"<p>

"You're progressing at a remarkable rate, it's actually quite alarming. We sealed this room on the off chance that you should, at any point, lose control of your chakra. It rarely ever happens, but you are very valuable to us, and my master wanted to make absolutely certain. Therefore, you can only use your chakra in one of the designated rooms in which you have been training, and not in here." _Although, with all of the ways in which we're planning to edit your DNA, it may just be that these seals won't apply to you anymore, soon. But I'm certainly not going to tell you that._

Naruto accepted the explanation with a mixture of relief and regret. "Anyway," he said, never one to let panic attacks trouble him for long, Kabuto noticed sourly, "Who's this person I'm meeting? What jutsu will she- you said she before- be teaching me?"

"All in good time, Naruto. Don't you want it to be a surprise?"

"I hate surprises. They always seem to end in near-fatal accidents," Naruto said cheerfully and sincerely.

Kabuto, who was in a bad mood, gave up and just walked on in silence, letting Naruto's chatter wash over him, replying in monosyllabic grunts and sidelong glares. Eventually, Naruto fell into a hurt silence, plodding along beside the taller boy.

At last they reached a door, which Kabuto unlocked and ushered Naruto through. The younger boy stopped inside, waiting for Kabuto, but the older boy shook his head. "She has her instructions. I'll keep on eye on you two, but you're going in alone. Good luck. Who knows, you might enjoy it." Kabuto closed the door behind Naruto, who looked around. There room was at least twice the size of his own bedroom. On one wall was a long, low bookshelf, packed to bursting with tomes and scrolls. Nearby was a table loaded blank paper, scrolls, inks of various colors, pens, and one or two wooden practice weapons. There was a familiar-looking tinted, one-way mirror set into the wall opposite the door.

And in the center of the room was a table, at which sat a woman. A thin, pale woman with violet eyes and unusually long red hair. And she was staring at Naruto as though she had seen a ghost.

* * *

><p>AN: I apologize that this took a bit longer to write than it strictly should have. However, it's done now, so no use with it-could-have-beens. With luck, the next chapter will be better/funnier, but I'm still doing a lot of setup. Now, just the usual notices...

-This is not my only fic, so i will be writing both this challenge fic and my original Naruto fic, A little Insanity is good for the Soul, at the same time, hopefully alternating updating chapters between the two of them. Please bear in mind that finals are coming up at school, as well, but I'll do my best.

-Please be aware that in this fic (challenge by dracohalo117), Naruto will be very powerful- the parameters of the challenge pretty much ensure that- but he is still a kid and I will try my best to avoid making him overpowered.

-I'm sorry if I mislead you, but Juugo and Kimimaro will not be that important in this story and Naruto will not get their DNA. Sorry, I can see perfectly why it would come about, but I just can't work their DNA into my plans.

-As to pairings, I'm not promising anything, not even that there will be a pairing, but if there is one for Naruto, I already have it decided (as a just-in-case kind of measure)

-Thank you very much to all of those kind people who reviewed for Chapter One. (Happy Mother's day!)

-Please review for this chapter so I can hear your input. Please? Thank you! Goodbye! Until next we meet, when tides turn and a hush falls upon the still and blind who are our future... eh... please review? Bye!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, this challenge belongs to dracohalo117, any themes or ideas that appear in either Thanathos' or Arynia's Perfection fics belong to them respectively and whatever is left belongs to me.

* * *

><p>The Kyuubi attack. Though it lasted considerably less than twenty-four hours, it was an event that would live forever in infamy for the citizens of Konoha. Arguably, the catastrophic event was even more devastating than the three Great Shinobi Wars that had preceded it. It was a day of panic, chaos, and destruction. Families were slaughtered, separated, young children watched their parents die before their eyes, whole sectors of the mighty village were flattened. The shinobi did all they could to restrain the beast, but they were no match. They were cut down in swaths. It was so much worse than a war. It was genocide.<p>

Until one man stepped forward. A man who, far from lurking behind the scenes pulling strings and giving orders as he could have been doing, had been fighting on the front line the entire time. Finally, sweating, shaking, chakra too low for comfort, he conceded to the one course of action that he ought to have known from the start was the only way.

He retired to his wife's side. She was pale and sweating, but her eyes shone brightly, attentively, as she clutched her newborn son. Minato sighed. Kushina did not deserve this. Did not deserve all that had happened on that day; having her son threatened and then snatched away from her mere hours after he had been born, having the demon fox ripped from her body. _And she doesn't deserve what I'm about to do to her. If she never forgives me, it will be too merciful a punishment for what I've done_, Minato thought, staring sadly at Kushina. How strong she looked despite the fact that she was exhausted beyond belief and had not risen to greet him.

"Minato. How goes it? Do you need my help?" Kushina sat up, carefully shifting Naruto in her arms as she moved.

"As a matter of fact, I do, Kushina, badly. It is a thing I would never ask of you unless the circumstances were dire. And they are. In fact, dire is too small a word for it. Appalling. Cataclysmic." Kushina studied the man before her, the man she loved more than any other, save perhaps the child in her arms. His face was a smorgasbord of emotions; terror, guilt, determination, and sorrow.

"You're not here to discuss semantics. Minato, what's going on? If what you have to ask of me is so important, then get on with it, or isn't time of the essence?"

"It is indeed." Minato approached Kushina and crouched beside her bed. Leaning forward and putting a hand on her shoulder, he rested the cold, smooth metal of his hitai-ate against Kushina's forehead for a brief moment, before shifting so he could whisper in her ear. After less than a minute, he felt the red-haired woman stiffen.

Careful not to disturb Naruto, Kushina put out a hand and placed it on Minato's shoulder, moving him back just far enough so that she could look him right in the eyes. She seemed to stare for an eternity. Minato could not gather anything at all from her expression and resisted both the urge to fidget and to remind her that precious seconds were slipping away.

Finally, Kushina asked in a calculated, clinical voice, "How many deaths?"

"If I do not do this, perhaps hundreds of thousands," Minato replied.

"And there's no other way?"

"Believe me, if there were one more way, _just one, any_ one, I would act on it in an instant. But I can see no other way. Naruto should be none the worse for it, though. After all, you were fine, and he's still an Uzumaki by blood."

Kushina's eyes narrowed. "It is not the life I would have chosen for him."

"Nor me. But we can help. He won't be alone."

Kushina sighed. She lifted the baby whom she still held and looked him full in the face. Naruto sleepily blinked eyes as brilliant a blue as those of his father. "You look like him," Kushina murmured. She drew a long, shuddering breath. "Take care of him, Naruto. I love you." She softly kissed the boy on the forehead, gave him one finally squeeze, and then held him out to Minato, who received the boy reverently, blinking tears out of his eyes.

"Kushina, I-" but the red-haired woman cut him off.

"I know. I love you, too. _Both _of you. No matter what. Just do me a favor and come back afterwards."

Minato nodded, though a dull, blank buzzing filled his head. _How can I lie to her? What kind of person am I that I could do this to my own family?_ He heaved a ragged breath. "Please stay safe. It will all be over soon, and then we can be together again." Kushina nodded mutely as Minato wrapped Naruto securely in his blanket. Then Minato disappeared in the smallest wisp of smoke, meeting Kushina's eyes one last time as he vanished.

Minato walled up his emotions, penning them into a tiny corner in his mind into which he refused to look. He had to be completely objective, to forget whom he was condemning to a life bound to the most powerful demon of the nine bijuu.

And, of course, he was trying to forget about what he was preparing to do to himself. He had known all along that it was not possible for him to either seal all of the Kyuubi's power away or to kill it. Therefore, he would have to do both- seal half of the power and kill the rest. Seal it in himself and kill it. And him with it.

The seal, an elaborate variation on a basic storage seal, took no more than a scant ten minutes to complete for one such as Minato who had trained in fuinjutsu under Kushina. He wished it could have taken ten years, that he could have stretched out the time between then and when he would have to look upon his son for the last time.

Minato knew he was already dying. His fight with Madara had weakened him, the Kyuubi had injured him, and his chakra was quickly dwindling after hours of battling on the front line. He had already arranged his contract with the Shinigami so that he would seize what was left of the Kyuubi when he would be coming for Minato's soul anyway, and take both with him to the realm of the deceased. In effect, he was already dead. The Minato that still walked the earth, the Minato who still held breath in his lungs, the Minato about to seal his son's fate as readily as he had sealed his own, that Minato was little more than a specter, and imprint of his living self, going about unfinished business before it would be allowed to rest in peace. Forevermore.

Minato had dispatched messages to both Jiraiya and Sarutobi with specific instructions regarding Naruto and Kushina. All that remained was to act. Stepping out from what shelter flimsy walls, fragile windows, and shoddy roofing could provide from the raging beast, Minato summoned his old, trusted comrade, Gamabunta, a toad of such immensity that it rivaled even the Kyuubi no Yoko. Or so Minato hoped. The plan was not to get Gamabunta killed, after all, by pitting him against someone too far out of his weight class strength-wise.

"Gamabunta, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but can you possibly hold him off for a bit while I do this?" Minato called, perched atop the great toad's skull.

"That little guy? Not a chance. I can buy you maybe a minute or two at a stretch, but there's no chance of me holding it off for any longer."

"A minute should be enough. And Gamabunta?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For everything. Goodbye, my friend."

Gamabunta did not respond, Toads not being prone to overly emotional displays, instead he approached the snapping, snarling demon with several long bounds. "Here fluffy, fluffy, fluffy…" With a slithering clang he drew his enormous tanto and moved in to engage to the fox, fending off tails left and right. Narrowly, he dodged an imari. He darted and leaped, cavorted and slashed, not allowing the Kyuubi to take its attention from him for even a moment. "Whenever you're ready," He growled to Minato.

"Right." Minato took a deep breath and unwrapped the blanket that coddled his son. For a moment he gazed at Naruto, and a certain sense of surrealism seemed to assert itself. _Standing on a giant toad, facing down a fox that would like nothing better than the death of every human in existence, and nothing separates my dying in vain and my dying a hero but a few lines of ink and an infant. May as well get on with it._ Bracing his feet to stabilize himself against Gamabunta's erratic movements, he began making one-handed seals. In less than ten seconds, the command was complete. The message had been sent. The end was now.

Several unsteady seconds passed, Minato, unwilling to turn around, to stare death in the face sooner than absolutely necessary, on tenterhooks, waiting to feel something. Without warning, Minato experienced a curious, rather unpleasant fluttering sensation in the vicinity of his chest. He looked down to see the altogether terrifying sight of a hand forcing through his body as if he were no more than a cloud of steam. A purple, larger-than life hand extending right through the center of his chest. Though Minato was frozen to the spot, unable to twist around and check, he knew that behind him loomed the Shinigami, god of death, a knife in his teeth and a vortex in his eyes. _As of now, my patron god._

The wrist and forearm to which the hand was attached suddenly lengthened, and Minato gasped as his eyes automatically tracked the movements the appendage, unable to feel it at all, save for a very faint, unpleasant dragging sensation in his chest cavity. Minato was forced to watch as the powerful hand seized hold of the thrashing demon and dragged it back, closer and closer to Minato and the bundle of blanket that he clutched.

Working swiftly and deftly, the Shinigami lopped off a good half off the mass of Youki and reeled it in, accompanied by the screeches and growls of the beast as it recognized what was happening. It struggled harder than ever against the grip of the god, writhing and slashing and biting, but to no avail.

Dazedly, gazing at the purple hand, half deafened by the commotion, Minato watched in admiration as the Shinigami neatly coiled the Youki, draining it into the seal painted over Naruto's abdomen and fixing it there with an elegant sealing that would have taken Minato several lifetimes to duplicate. That task was finished in under a minute and it was only once Minato felt the prickling on the back of his neck and the shifting sensation in his chest that meant that the Shinigami had moved on to him that he registered Naruto's crying, his wails vying with those of the greatly weakened Kyuubi.

_Greatly weakened, but still a threat. No backing out. I'm sorry, Naruto._ Once again the purple hand extended and seized the thrashing, screaming demon. This time, Minato though he could just here the great Death God's voice whispering, resonating in his own mind.

"_**Yoink!"**_

With a cold slithering rush, the great hand was jerked out of Minato's body, dragging the Kyuubi's remaining Youki through after, sealing it as it entered Minato's chest so that all that the hand was pulling out of the other side was a thin, translucent, anguished _something._ Minato's soul, held painfully tightly by the hair, dragged from the realm of the living, the newly constructed seal on its stomach glowing with malignant red light. That soul, the very human essence of the best-loved Hokage ever to grace the village with his affections, was gone, pulled down to the depths of the realm of death, over which the Shinigami held court. And the last and the most terrible of the nine bijuu with it.

* * *

><p>Kushina had still been weak and it was several days before she was strong enough to leave the safe house in which she had been left outside of the village. Out of danger.<p>

In the confusion of the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack, amid the rubble and stricken villagers, it was an easy task to get back within the partially pulverized walls, a fact that worried Kushina slightly. These trivial worries were swept away at once, however, when she learned what had become of her family. When Kushina learned of Minato's death, she was in paroxysms of grief. _Who gave him permission to sacrifice his own life and leave me here, stranded amongst the living with our son? What gives him the right to lay down his life for this village even if it means abandoning his family? _And yet Kushina knew that what her husband had done was right. This was how it should be. The great leader risking it all for his people. In a way, under the fury, shock and anguish, Kushina was more proud of her husband than she had ever been in his life. And that's what really broke her heart.

But Kushina was a tough, seasoned kunoichi and an Uzumaki to boot, so, repressing her sorrow for the time being, she set out to discover what had become of her newborn child. There would be time enough to grieve later.

* * *

><p>Kushina stood before Sarutobi's desk. She had been completely surprised when, for the first time ever, she had had to make an appointment to see the old man. But, after all, Konoha was far from repaired- not even close- and it suddenly seemed as though the Hokage was needed everywhere at once. Even as Kushina stood before him, Sarutobi was busily signing some of the papers he had dragged from under the massive drift that obscured his desk and puddled on the floor around it. Sarutobi's words were clipped, hectic, distracted.<p>

"I'm sorry Kushina, the orphanages are completely flooded. All of them. Overflowing and understaffed. We've had to beg some of the larger clans and civilian families with homes still standing to take in children with no place to stay. And Kusagakure and Yugakure are being absolutely no help at all. I'm meeting with them later today, but my hopes aren't high. What orphanage records exist are in utter chaos and so many of my best shinobi were killed that I can't spare you any at all. We're spread far too thin as it is. If any of the other elemental nations took in into their heads to attack us right now, we would fall, no doubt about it."

Kushina held her temper in check, but her voice came out sharp nonetheless. "Hokage-sama, I understand how disorganized everything is at this time, but Naruto isn't just any child. He is a Jinchuriki and he is Minato's son. It is as much his doing that Konoha still exists at all as it is my husband's. If you can't bring yourself to spare one single ANBU to help me find him, at least promise not to prevent me doing whatever I deem necessary to find my child. You owe me that much. You owe _Minato_ far more than that much."

Sarutobi sighed, his pen ceasing for a moment in its relentless signing. He did not make eye contact with Kushina, but spoke quietly to the papers before him. "No one's denying what your husband did or how important it is to find Naruto. I might be able to have ANBU free to begin assisting you in looking for him in as soon as a month or two. But for now you'll have to search alone. And yes, before you ask again, of course you have permission to do whatever you deem necessary to find Naruto."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kushina said tightly, wheeling on the spot and marching out of the office. She slid the door shut behind her with a clap, which caused a small avalanche of papers to slide off of the heaps on Sarutobi's desk and join their brethren on the floor.

Sarutobi let out a tired sigh, gathered up the papers he had signed already and his notes for the meeting with the representatives from Kusagakure and Yugakure, picked up his hat, and left, sliding the door closed much more gently than Kushina had done, blocking out the depressing sight of the drifts of fluttering whiteness.

* * *

><p>Kushina spent weeks scouring the village. Consequently, she got to see the extent of the damage the Kyuubi had wrought. Homes and shops were demolished, cutting a huge swath of destruction through the once-teeming village, which marked the path of the mighty demon. Bricks had been reduced to dust and rubble and trees were little more than ash and kindling. Though bodies no longer littered the streets, those having been the first priorities to be cleared away, rusty red-brown stains of dried blood still decorated the streets in certain sectors of the village. The sights of destruction sent shivers chasing down Kushina's back. She had no trouble picturing her son as one of those who had died, bleeding out, crying, alone… <em>No. Minato would have made sure to get Naruto to safety before… Well, he would have made sure our son was safe.<em>

Kushina also discovered fairly early in her rounds of the various orphanages, well the ones that remained after the attack, anyway, quite a few of the 'orphanages' were actually different buildings that had been repurposed after the attack, that Sarutobi had not been exaggerating. It was, quite simply, utter chaos. There were far too many children crammed into each orphanage and nowhere near enough adults to keep track of them. Quite a few of the older children had taken charge, helping out wherever they could. Kushina described Naruto to those who were supposed to be taking care of the children as best she could, but most of the time, whoever she was speaking to would not even be able to tell her how many children there were in the building, let alone if there was one specific child who matched her description. In addition to this, there were a few clans and quite a large number of civilians who had taken in a couple of children each and it was impossible for her to find and search all of these places single-handedly. And yet she persisted, despite the fact that the children didn't so much as stay in the same place from day to day, shuffled from one orphanage to another, or moving out to live with a new family.

After three weeks, just when things were starting to calm down and Kushina despaired of ever seeing her son again, she began to hear the most intriguing rumors. It seemed that Orochimaru, Kushina gave the faintest of shudders- she had heard that name from Minato's old sensei, Jiraiya, and never accompanied by any story she would describe as 'palatable'- was collecting children. On the surface, this seemed a simple enough gesture, providing care and shelter to a large number of orphaned children of various ages in order to ease Konoha's troubles, even a little. But Kushina couldn't help but be suspicious of the Snake sannin, particularly as the rumors seemed to suggest that his methods for gathering the children weren't completely, shall we say, legitimate.

All the same, she had not yet found her son, and now that she knew that a large number of children from Konoha were in the care of Orochimaru, she knew her next destination, the next place she would look.

* * *

><p>When the red-haired woman approached the pale sannin, Orochimaru's pulse quickened and he had to work hard to disguise both his surprise and his greed. The Hot-Blooded Habanero of Konoha! Seal mistress and the Yondaime's widow. It was a minute before Orochimaru understood what she was asking him. <em>So, Kushina Uzumaki has misplaced her son and thinks I may have inadvertently collected him? Perhaps I can use this to my advantage.<em> And so Orochimaru began to speak, spinning Kushina an elaborate lie. Yes, of course, Kushina-san, I have an infant who fits your description. Blue eyes and blonde hair? Whisker marks on his cheeks? That's the one. And if you come with me, you will be reunited shortly. No, no trouble, I'll take you there personally.

Orochimaru led her to one of his old, all but abandoned bases, no more than a temporary bolt hole, really, conveniently situated just outside the confines of Konoha. Orochimaru crossed quickly to the cabinets, trying not to draw attention to the dust that had settled there of late. Quickly, with his back turned so that Kushina could not see, Orochimaru extracted three glass vials from the cabinet and, double-checking the labels, wiped out a slightly gritty glass with a rag and poured in the liquids, as well as a shot of sake. He turned back to Kushina, smiling, holding the glass. Would you like a drink, Kushina-san, before we go retrieve your son? He is being treated perfectly well of course. Go on, have a drink. Really? Was he sure? Oh well, all right then.

Orochimaru watched Kushina give the drink a discreet sniff. He held his breath. But he needn't have worried. Apparently not detecting anything under the smell of the sake, and anyway, relief about being finally reunited with her son, whom she hadn't seen since the day of his birth, making her less cautious then she would ordinarily be, Kushina took a sip. Tasting nothing but slightly diluted sake, Kushina finished off the glass. Now, would Orochimaru please take her to her son?

"But of course, Kushina-san. This was just a short stop I had to make on the way to pick something up. Come along." Turning away, Orochimaru caught a flicker of apprehension on Kushina's face, but she followed him without hesitation when they began travelling farther and farther from Konoha.

They were less than a quarter of a mile from their destination when Kushina began to sway. Her leaps- they were, naturally, travelling shinobi-style, leaping from branch to branch- grew sloppy and uncoordinated. Finally, Orochimaru was just in time to catch Kushina before she fell out of the tree and hit the hard earth. From there, it was a luckily short distance to carry her.

When Orochimaru arrived at his private lab, he handed the unconscious woman to one of his lab assistants with instructions to lock her up in one of the cells with the chakra-dampening seals in the walls, inaccessible to the seal mistress so there would be no tampering. The assistant bowed his head and scurried off, the red-haired woman's head lolling against his chest.

Orochimaru then turned to another one of assistants and gave him specific instructions about what Kushina was to be fed for the duration of her stay. While that assistant left to follow Orochimaru's directions, the Snake sannin stood perfectly still, allowing his shoulders to relax and his breathing to slow for a moment. Standing by himself in the middle of one of his labs, Orochimaru gave a thin, tight-lipped smile. Making his way to his study, he decided to catch up on reading some of the newer report files from his experiments there before his new prisoner woke up.

A few hours later a lab assistant tapped timidly on the study door and entered bearing a tray of food. "The prisoner is awake, Orochimaru-sama," the man said, holding out the tray.

Orochimaru stood and crossed to the door, relieving the man of the tray as he went. Making his way down to the holding cells, Orochimaru enjoyed, as always, the effect that his mere presence had among his captives. Some fell silent and shrank away from the doors of their cells while others threw themselves against the doors, screaming insults and trying to get at the pale man.

However, Orochimaru soon passed through this section and within a minute was walking among the isolation rooms, each one soundproofed and sealed to dampen the chakra of the occupant. Stopping before one particular door and sparing a hand to unlock the door, Orochimaru paused only to cloak himself in a jutsu that, while not able to completely mitigate the chakra-dampening seals, would nonetheless stop him from feeling the drain quite as much as the prisoner would.

Orochimaru entered, not fearing that the prisoner would try to escape as she was weak and groggy from the anesthetic he had given her and, in any case, was cuffed and bound to the wall by a length of chain. Orochimaru set down the tray of food and sat down with his back against the wall.

Kushina, who was seated as he was, with her back against the wall opposite the door, did not move toward the tray. Her eyes followed her captor mistrustfully. _Ah, good. I should have known she wasn't one of those prisoners who is too naïve to realize she has been tricked. That will save me having to explain. _

After allowing the silence to stretch on uninterrupted for several minutes, Orochimaru broke it. "I suggest you eat the food I brought, Uzumaki-san. If your stubbornness persists and you refuse, I can guarantee you'll be dead before the day is out." Orochimaru, watching Kushina's eyes through the semi-darkness, caught a flash of what could best be described as scorn. "You don't believe me? Well consider this. You don't really think that sake and the anesthetic were the only things you drank, do you?"

This time, a look of accusation crossed Kushina's face. "I see you refuse to speak. But worry not, I'll answer the question that must be on the tip of your tongue." A humorless smile stretched the waxy skin across the Snake sannin's sharp cheekbones. "Now, Orochimaru-sama, what else did you put in Kushina's drink?" he mused to himself. He pretended to think, studying Kushina out of the corner of his eye, his gaze never leaving her face. "Well, Orochimaru-sama," he answered himself, "I may have possibly slipped in a little squatter poison. Harmless, really, or at least, it will be to Kushina if she continues taking the antidote that I was thoughtful enough to put in her drink."

There was no denying it, Kushina had definitely looked alarmed when he mentioned the squatter poison. "So you see, Kushina, that poison will sit in your body for as long as I want it to, months, years, decades, even, but only if you keep taking the antidote. Miss even one dosage and the poison will begin to act within six hours. You will die by inches. Sometimes it takes as much as two weeks to die of this particular poison. Imagine it; two weeks of agony, of sweat and screaming until you're so hoarse that the pain even prevents you from blacking out and escaping in that way. And what a shame that would be, if you were to die here in this little cell, away from anyone who would care if you were to cease to exist. I guess that would make your son, little Naruto, an orphan, wouldn't it?"

Orochimaru paused. Looking for a reaction. At the mention of her son, Kushina seemed to withdraw into herself, her eyes became blank and dull and her shoulders slumped a fraction of an inch. Orochimaru knew he had her. It was time to leave. Orochimaru stood up and opened the door, resting his hand on the knob. "I'd suggest you eat, Uzumaki-san. You won't get the antidote until you do, and you can never find your son if you're dead." The Snake sannin left, locking the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi peered at the infant before him. "Yes, he matches Kushina's description, and he's the right age." It was almost two months since the Kyuubi attack, and Sarutobi hadn't see or heard from Kushina for several weeks. Sarutobi had considered sending out shinobi to find her, but though no new disasters had occurred since the Kyuubi attack, all of the shinobi of Konoha were widely scattered, out on missions to try and raise money to finish repairs in the village and to reassure the fire daimyo that they could already handle missions and that he needn't send new missions to other villages instead. <em>Maybe if Kushina hasn't shown up in a few more weeks, I'll send someone to look for her,<em> Sarutobi thought.

"What would you like done with the demon, Hokage-sama?" The ANBU who was holding Naruto asked.

Sarutobi looked up sharply. "First off, you can drop the 'demon' talk. Naruto is as much a hero as the Yondaime was in the defeat of the Kyuubi and will be treated as such. Secondly, I think the best thing would be to let Naruto live at the hospital for now. His mother shouldn't be away for too much longer, and then she can take him home."

As it happened, Sarutobi would end up having to send out that search party in a few weeks' time to find the missing red-haired kunoichi. But the party would return empty-handed, unable to find Kushina after a thorough search of the neighboring villages and the woodlands surrounding Konoha.

Unsure of what to do with Naruto, Sarutobi got him his own apartment when the boy was two years old. Sarutobi visited the boy faithfully every day and often stopped by and brought Naruto to the Hokage tower with him in the mornings. To keep the boy out of trouble, he ended up enrolling Naruto in the Shinobi academy two years early. He encouraged Naruto to be independent and to try and make friends with the older children in his classes as well as kids his own age.

Occasionally, over the years, Sarutobi would wonder what became of Kushina.

* * *

><p>Six months after her initial imprisonment, Kushina was as stubborn as ever. Though she faithfully ate the food provided to her every day and even occasionally spoke, she utterly refused to say a word on any of the topics that so interested her captor.<p>

Though Orochimaru visited several times a month, his visits became less frequent with every passing month as Kushina refused to speak on the subjects of her husband, her son, her sealing techniques, or Konoha. The most her usually got out of her were a few curt, sarcastic comments.

That's when Mizuki came up with a brilliant idea.

Mizuki was a recently acquired member of Orochimaru's organization. As a sensei at the Shinobi academy, Mizuki was well placed to be an inconspicuous information-gatherer. The perfect spy.

Mizuki's suggestion came in the form of a note, hand-delivered to Orochimaru by one of his subordinates who had been to a secret meeting with Mizuki to get the most recent update on the goings-on within Orochimaru's old village. The note took the form of a photograph, taken of the seven-month-old infant who so resembled his father. On the back of the envelope was written, in Mizuki's cramped hand- _For his mother's cooperation. _Delighted, Orochimaru hastened down to the cell in which Kushina reposed.

When the door opened, Kushina raised an eyebrow, it not being time for her next meal yet. She did not stand, but then, she never did for Orochimaru, preferring to remain seated with her back against the wall. "What is it you want?" She asked harshly.

"Ah, don't take that tone with me, Uzumaki-san! I bring good news! Don't you want to see?" Orochimaru said, holding up the photo so that all Kushina could see was the back.

"If you consider it good news, then no," was Kushina's terse reply.

"But this, I think, will interest you even more than it does me. You see, one of my agents has found your son."

Kushina bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. Orochimaru could see that her body was tensing, longing to spring up and snatch the photo from him, no doubt. Orochimaru laughed softly. "Oh no, don't get up on my account. Here you are, no strings attached." Orochimaru held out the photo and Kushina leaned forward and took it from his pale, long-fingered grip.

For a long moment Kushina's eyes played over the image, drinking it in. Orochimaru let her have her moment before her took the photo back. She resisted for a moment but then desisted, allowing him to pull the photo from her suddenly slack grip.

"Naruto," Kushina whispered, and Orochimaru thought that, for the first time since her imprisonment, the red-haired woman was about to cry. Suppressing his gloating grin, Orochimaru left immediately.

_Excellent. If this has the desired effect, it will prevent her from trying to stop taking her antidote for the sake of someday seeing her son. All the same, it may be a good idea to have Mizuki continue to send pictures of her son. Every few months should be enough, but not too regularly. If she's expecting it, there's no fun in it._

* * *

><p>And so Orochimaru continued to visit Kushina, though the visits became much shorter and less frequent over the years. When Orochimaru joined Akatsuki, he left instructions for Kushina to be supplied with her daily antidote as per usual in his absence, though of course she wouldn't receive news of her son for the duration of the Snake sannin's allegiance to Akatsuki. And once Orochimaru returned, bent on making the perfect 'skin' to inhabit, he all but forgot about the red-haired kunoichi, though she was still being fed the correct antidote every day, the lab assistants' instructions on that point never having been revised. And thus Kushina was kept alive, tormented by the grief of watching her son grow up through captured stills of his life and the knowledge that she could not influence it.<p>

* * *

><p>Until one day.<p>

Kushina lifted her head as she heard the scrape of a key in her lock. She adjusted the chains around her wrists so they would neither rattle nor scrape along the sore, flayed parts of her wrists. She frowned as a boy entered her a cell, a boy she had never seen before. He couldn't be more than fifteen years old, with mid-length silver hair and black eyes behind round glasses. He gave her a smile and she shivered involuntarily. It was the same sort of smile Orochimaru had always used to give her when he was about to deliver news about her son that he knew would make her want to break down and weep. The smile looked strangely out of place on the smooth face of this teenage boy.

The boy approached her, pulling a pair of chakra-dampening cuffs from a weapons pouch he wore. He snapped the cuffs around her wrists before unchaining her from the wall and firmly taking hold of the short chain that connected the two cuffs.

"Who are you, boy?" Kushina asked.

"Kabuto," the boy replied, leading Kushina from the room by her cuffs.

"And where are you taking me, boy?"

"Where my master wills you to go. To meet your son." Kushina stopped dead in her tracks, but Kabuto pulled her on with an impatient shake of the cuffs.

"Excuse me?"

"Orochimaru-sama delegated to me the task of explaining your guidelines to you. Orochimaru-sama wishes for you to teach Naruto sealing, but there are certain things you may not discuss with him. If you do not comply with my master's wishes- if you break the rules and bring up the wrong topic- we will kill Naruto. Slowly. Do you understand?"

"Naturally," Kushina said dryly, hiding her anxiety. "And I take it you'll be watching me every second I'm with my son, if it really is my son you're taking me to."

"Of course. Now, the rules. You are not to mention that you are the boy's mother. You are not to mention the Yondaime or anything at all pertaining to Konoha. Keep in mind, if you're not sure if it's against the rules, it is. Do not speak of the Kyuubi or of Jinchuriki. Do not mention Orochimaru's name. Do not remove materials from the room. Do not perform unauthorized jutsu. And lastly, do not attempt to get around to rules by passing notes or using code or methods of communication of any kind. You will be routinely searched after each lesson with the boy."

By this time the two of them had reached a plain door and Kabuto had removed one hand from Kushina's cuffs in order to unlock the door. He led Kushina into the large, brightly lit room and seated her in a plain, straight-backed wooden chair before the long table. He removed Kushina's handcuffs.

Kushina immediately felt the difference as she began to regain control of her chakra for the first time in years. True it was only the tiniest of trickles, and she knew she wouldn't be up to full capacity for quite some time, but it made her feel more at ease already. She rubbed her chaffed wrists, speaking to cover her elation. "With all these rules, I feel like I'm back at the academy. 'Put everything away when you're finished.' 'No talking while sensei is talking.' 'Wait your turn and share.' 'No cursing.' Of course, it was always that last one I had the most trouble following."

Kabuto chuckled. "Now I see where Naruto gets it," he said.

Kushina snorted. "About this 'Naruto' I'm supposed to be teaching; well I bet we're not thinking of the same boy. There's no way any son of mine would end up here. Not with the people watching over him that he's got."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. In fact, Naruto came quite willingly."

Kushina couldn't help but feel a deep sense of frustrated regret at those words. As hard as she had been trying to keep from getting her hopes up, she had really and truly thought, for just a moment, that there was a chance that she was about to see her son. Of course, that would mean Orochimaru had control of him, but if it really was Kushina's Naruto, she was confident that she could work out a way to free both her and him if need be. But if this boy of whom Kabuto was speaking had come willingly… "In that case, it definitely isn't my Naruto," Kushina said firmly.

"We'll see," was Kabuto's only answer. "I'm going to go and retrieve him now. Please bear in mind that you will be monitored in here at all times, even in my absence, and that any attempt by you to break any of the aforementioned rules will result in your son being hurt." Kabuto left, locking the door behind him with a resounding click.

Kushina sat up straight in the chair and looked around, carefully not looking at the tinted two-way sheet of mirrored glass set into the far wall opposite the door and taking stock of the materials that she was being provided for the task of teaching about seals. Not that she actually planned to teach any lackey of Orochimaru's about the true mysteries of quality seals, but if she was going to fake it convincingly, it was a good idea to know what she was going to be using.

The supplies with which the room was stocked met her grudging approval. There were different colors of inks and brushes and even different types of paper and a few blunted practice weapons. The low bookshelves by the wall were crammed with texts, manuals, and scrolls and there were even a few pieces of colored chalk, presumably for drawing on the whitish plasticine floor tiles or for demonstrating how seals could be applied to the body.

_Hmm. Even if they do frisk me every time I leave the room, it should still be possible for me to smuggle out enough materials over a long period of time to make a seal to get me out of my cell, depending, of course, how often I'm brought to this room. I could make an exploding seal to blast the door open, but that might not be enough to get past any guards I encounter or to leave the labs entirely. How about a seal that feeds on the chakra that composes the dampening seals in the walls of my cell? That could work. Or a variation; a sort of parasite seal that piggybacks on the chakra-dampening seals that will feed me back any chakra that the chakra-dampening seals siphon off for as long as I'm in the room. Either one of those ideas would allow me to regain my chakra over a short period of time, maybe a matter of days, and from there it would be simple for me to fight my way out. I'll have to work on designing the seals, but that can wait until I'm back in my cell and not being monitored around the clock. Oh, Orochimaru, you think you've got me beaten and cornered, but this situation is just asking to be exploited. _

_When I leave, I'd have to deal with the squatter poison in my system, but that shouldn't be too hard if I have the proper materials. A seal that combines properties of both vacuum and storage seals could gather the poison into one part of my body. True, that might weaken the part in which it's gathered, but using the right medical jutsu with a fuinjutsu spin on it, the seal can be removed, taking the poison sealed inside with it. Of course, to design the seal to attract the poison in the first place, I'd need a sample of the specific type of poison. I guess the solution to that lies in the antidote that Orochimaru's lackeys dose me with every day. If I can seal up a bit of each type of food that they give me for a day, one of the items is sure to have the antidote in it which, once analyzed, will tell me what poison I need to create the vacuum seal for._

For the first time in years, Kushina was thinking like her old, optimistic self; a person whose determination knew no bounds and who was a genius at designing seals. However, her conscious gave her no peace. _What of this Naruto boy I'm supposed to teach? Should I plan to break him out too? _Kushina shook her head a little. _He's not my Naruto. He volunteered to work for Orochimaru. Breaking him out would be a completely unnecessary risk. I would do it in a heartbeat if he actually was my son, but since he's not…_

Just then Kushina heard the key slide into the lock and the sharp clunk as the lock turned over. The door opened and a boy stepped through, looking over his shoulder enquiringly. From outside the door Kushina heard Kabuto's voice, though she couldn't make out the words. Then the door was swung closed behind the boy who had entered, leaving Kabuto on the outside. The boy turned. His eyes swept the room before coming to rest on Kushina's face. Violet locked onto bright blue.

Kushina felt the blood drain from her face and knew she was staring at the poor boy, but she couldn't help it. _You really do look like your father, Naruto- blonde hair, blue eyes and all. That settles it; we're both getting out of here just as soon as I can finish that seal._

* * *

><p>AN: I was actually planning to just tell Kushina's story briefly and then get back to Naruto's story in this chapter, but after all of the responses I got to Kushina's appearance in the last chapter, I figured I should devote a bit more time to the backstory. And a bit more time turned into... a whole chapter.

And now for a few notes:

-So, the Kyuubi attack didn't go precisely as it did in canon, but it worked out alright for the story. In addition, you got to see a bit about the immediate aftermath of the attack and how Sarutobi ended up bringing Naruto up.

-Yes, Minato knew he was lying to Kushina when he told her he would come back.

-It took Sarutobi so long to find Naruto because he wasn't actively looking, believing that Kushina had that covered an pehaps that she had already found Naruto. He just kind of put out Naruto's general description to the ANBU just in case while he was dealing with the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack.

-Next chapter Kushina begins to train Naruto and Naruto starts to learn a few other new things as well (she says tantalizingly.)

-NorthSouthGorem gets recognition here for helping me to marshal my thoughts into what could laughably be called 'order.'

-As previously stated, I shall attempt to update as soon as school finals and my other update obligation (my other fic, if you don't remember) permit_._

_-_Eventually, I'll start to write some of the other fics I have all planned out, including a rather long oneshot or so, but for now, I'll stick with the two fics I've got, at least until I'm far enough into this Perfection fic to devote my attention to other stories.

-As though it needs saying at this point, please leave a Review on your way out_. _As illustrated by this chapter, I do read/ occasionally follow up on ideas submitted by my reviewers_. _And with that, I bid thee good day. Please Review! Bye! Peace!_  
><em>


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, this challenge belongs to dracohalo117, and whatever is left belongs to me.

* * *

><p>Naruto gave the woman a tentative smile. "Hello. Kabuto said you would be teaching me some kind of new jutsu." Naruto took a step forward, then another, wishing the woman would stop staring at him and say something. The bright violet eyes in the gaunt, pale face were more than a little unnerving. He took a seat in the chair opposite her. She remained silent.<p>

"What should I call you?" Naruto ventured.

After a minute or so, during which she didn't so much as acknowledge the question, the woman cleared her throat and spoke. "Your name is Naruto, isn't it?"

"Uh, yes, and you are?" Naruto asked, squirming in his seat under her intense scrutiny.

"My name is Kushina, but-" here she flicked a nervous look at the tinted mirror set into the wall before a sort of determination seemed to steal over her features. "But you can call me Kaa-chan," she finished firmly.

Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise, his smile returning to his face. "You can't be that bad, then," he said. "I've never had a mother, but I guess I could give it a try… Kaa-sensei."

Kushina smiled a little for the first time and seemed settled into her chair, a bit more relaxed and at ease than she had seemed previously. "You'd be what- ten years old, Naruto?"

"Yep! I'm going to be the youngest Hokage yet! One to surpass the previous four!" Naruto declared happily.

Kushina beamed, working hard not to let her sadness and pain show on her face. Once she was sure that her voice would be steady, she said, "Well, if that's so, you'll need to learn about fuinjutsu. Don't you think a Hokage should know about seals, Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged. "Probably. It sounds useful, though I've only come across it in the books Kabuto gave me as a passing mention. Is that what you're going to teach me?"

"Yes. We ought to start today and make the most out of our time together. If you're going to be the youngest Hokage yet, you'll have to learn as much as you can!" Kushina said enthusiastically, standing up and taking a step toward the table that was loaded with supplies.

"Yeah!" Naruto stood up and followed her, watching carefully as she chose paper and pens from among the selection. She handed him the same as what she took and they both sat down again.

Kushina seemed to hesitate, frowning at the paper under her hands a bit. "What kind of seal will you teach me first?" Naruto prompted.

"Yes, of course," Kushina said quickly. "Let's think. How about-" she glanced toward the tinted mirror once more, but this time Naruto noticed that there was a sly, mischievous tilt to her smile and an almost vindictive look in her eyes, "-exploding seals?"

"Sounds good to me," Naruto said, picking up his pen.

"Hang on," Kushina said. "First thing's first. Have you learned to channel chakra into objects yet?" Naruto shook his head. "Well, no help for that. You'll just have to learn as we go," she said briskly.

Kushina began to trace symbols on her paper, explaining what each one was called and what it was used for. Occasionally she would draw several symbols or kanji interlocking and describe how the purpose of each affected the others when they were arranged together. Finally, when she had traced out every one of the relatively few symbols necessary for making an exploding tag and given Naruto a thorough grounding on how each worked when chakra was applied, she started expounding on how different amounts or different types of chakra would effect the seal while it was being made.

Pausing only for breath, Kushina went on, asking Naruto detailed questions and having him answer back to her what she had said, just to make sure he had been listening. She was pleased to discover that he seemed fascinated by the subject and was, for the most part, able to repeat things perfectly to the word after hearing them only once. He seemed to have an instinctive knack, posing question after question, proposing combinations, variations, and possible applications for various types of seals he had heard of before. Kushina could see that it wouldn't be long before Naruto was designing his own seals for shinobi or everyday uses.

Naruto could easily have felt overwhelmed by the flood of information, but the boy seemed to drink it up, fitting each new data point into his constantly expanding map of the shinobi world with ease. Soon, he was not only proposing uses for certain seals, but was thinking of ways to combine seals with other jutsu, either while the seals were being made or while they were being used. Kushina was just the kind of sensei he needed. She answered every one of his questions instantly and in such detail that he always got more information than he had been seeking. When Naruto seemed uncertain on a point, Kushina could always find a way to make him understand.

Finally, Kushina instructed Naruto to begin tracing out the symbols and seeing where they could fit together. As he complied, Kushina described as best she could how one went about channeling chakra into a seal as it was crafted. Naruto nodded, he understood just fine. It was the application that was the tricky part.

Naruto was rather pleased when he found that his chakra control had improved vastly since Kabuto had begun teaching him. He was also a bit confused, as he hadn't been aware that his chakra control had improved quite to the level it had. In any case, he found it a bit hard to both channel his chakra and form the kanji correctly. He was also having a bit of trouble channeling the chakra _into_ the letters as he penned them, as Kushina-sensei had described. He could picture what was supposed to happen all right, but he couldn't make it work the first few times. However, when Kushina suggested he take a break, he refused, insisting he would get the hang of it.

Eventually, he did. It was only twenty minutes or so since he had first tried and the table before him was littered with papers, each one coated, sometimes on both sides, by symbols, some sprawling or cramped, some single or in interlocking groups. In addition to this, some of the pages bore notes about seals or aspects of same that Naruto wanted to experiment with. An idea would have occurred to him and he wrote it down at once so he could think about it later and not be distracted from the task at hand.

When Kushina picked up a few of the sheets lying scattered on the table, she noticed the notes on exploding seals. The ideas there were genius for someone who had only begun to learn about seals a few hours ago. He had notes on controlling the blast radius of an explosion and on delayed explosions.

Naruto's first successful exploding seal was a small one drawn in the corner of an already full page. He had really been concentrating while he had crafted it, visualizing the chakra imbuing the ink and activating the purpose of the various signs and symbols. When the seal was completed, the last line drawn, Naruto got a peculiar feeling, a sense of completion and satisfaction.

"Hey! I think I did it!" he exclaimed.

Kushina picked up the sheet, examining the seal minutely. "Looks good to me," she said. "And the chakra in it feels alright, too. Want to test it?"

"Yes I do." Naruto took the page back from Kushina and carefully tore the paper around the one successful seal, making sure not to rip through any of the lines. Then he placed it on the floor.

"Do you remember how I showed you to set it off?" Kushina asked.

Naruto laughed. "How could I forget?"

"And thus the pyromaniac was born," Kushina said wryly.

"What?"

"Never mind." Kushina watched Naruto as he positioned the tag so it was far enough away from the tables and walls of the room for his standards. Which meant that something was probably going to catch fire if Kushina didn't step in. As the red-haired woman moved forward and shifted the tag farther away from the supply table, she noticed just how excited and jittery Naruto was. "I'm surprised you managed to stay still for long enough to make an exploding tag in one sitting," she commented.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Actually, so am I, a little. Before I came here, there's no way I could have either sat still for that long or controlled my chakra well enough to have made a seal. It's probably a combination of Kabuto's help and the fact that sealing is actually really interesting."

Kushina didn't say anything for a moment, but she also didn't move, meaning that Naruto couldn't activate the seal, as she was sitting so close to it still. Suddenly, she asked, "How did you come to be here, Naruto?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "Well, I was in my last year at the shinobi academy and about a month ago or so, but I failed the genin exam. I would have had to retake the whole year of classes, but one of my senseis offered for me to come here and get private training instead. So I accepted and Kabuto's been teaching me since then."

Kushina stood up and retreated from the seal on the floor, drawing Naruto back with her. "Okay, Naruto. Let's see what you've really learned. Go ahead and blow it up."

"With pleasure." Naruto formed a single handseal, channeling chakra as he did so.

The seal blew up, the paper engulfed in an enormous ball of flame, the force of which rattled the tinted window in the wall and made Naruto's ears ring faintly. When the smoke and flames finally cleared, Kushina clapped him on the shoulder.

"Congratulations. It works!"

Naruto stared at the large scorch mark on the floor, spreading from the point where the paper had been like a smoky flower or many-pointed star. "Kabuto's going to kill us," he groaned.

"Probably," Kushina shrugged, "But my impression was that that boy has way too large of a pole up his ass for someone so young. He'll deal."

Naruto let out an incredulous laugh.

"Well, how does Kabuto act around you?" Kushina asked half challengingly, half curiously.

Naruto sobered somewhat. "He's a pretty good teacher," Naruto admitted. "He just gets impatient sometimes. Though, when he does, it usually forces him to come up with a faster way to teach me, which seems to work better than more traditional methods. Apart from that… well, I think he used to see me as more of a liability, but recently, for the past few weeks, he's been treating me more like a student. But even so, every once in a while we'll be getting along fine and then he'll mention his master and he'll kind of close up. He won't answer my questions and usually he leaves soon after."

Kushina bit her lip at the mention of Orochimaru, a forbidden topic, according to Kabuto. "Do you know his master's name?" she asked, testing.

"No. He always refuses to tell me," Naruto said, shaking his head.

"Did Kabuto give you a reason why he or his master wants to train you?" Kushina asked.

Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but just then Kabuto entered, leaving the door open behind him. "Naruto," he said. The blonde boy turned and saw Kabuto and shut his mouth hastily. "Kushina, you have concluded his lesson for today, I think. You've done well. From now on you two will be meeting for lessons once or twice a week. Come Naruto. I'll escort you to your room and then come back for you, Kushina." As Naruto left the room, he gave Kushina one last wave and a slightly guilty smile.

Kushina waved back. Kabuto, who had hung back to hold the door open for Naruto, gave her a long, blank look through the lenses of his glasses before he left, locking the door behind him once more.

* * *

><p>Once Naruto was safely ensconced in his room once more, he began to pace, turning over in his head all the new things he had learned, muttering new ideas aloud as they occurred. After about ten minutes, he went over to the tinted mirror and rapped on it sharply. "Hey! Are you guys taking notes? Because unless I get a desk and some paper and things, I won't be able to remember all of this stuff."<p>

No one responded to Naruto's voice. No one came to unlock his door. He shrugged. It had been worth a shot.

When Kabuto finally came with Naruto's dinner, he found the boy feverishly leafing through one of his books in search of a mention of seals he remembered reading about. When Naruto heard the older boy arrive, he abandoned the task, preoccupied instead with requesting a desk, reference books on sealing, and some other note-taking supplies.

Kabuto promised nothing, saying he would see what he could do and suggesting that Naruto read his assigned passage from the book Kabuto had just brought with the food.

Once Kabuto had left, Naruto resumed pacing, but found himself unable to fully concentrate. Instead, he gave up and devoured the food Kabuto had brought before turning his attention to the new book. It was on basic jutsu and chakra control, as well as having a little piece on the history of Sunagakure, where many famous puppet masters were said to originate.

Naruto, though he by no means forgot about the newfound world of fuinjutsu, settled down to read late into the night, becoming thoroughly engrossed in the book.

* * *

><p>The next day, when Kabuto fetched Naruto he brought him to a room not unlike those that the two normally occupied for training purposes, except for the fact that low table occupied the center of the room and there were a few chairs pushed up against the walls. On the table were two wooden jointed mannequins, each no larger than six inches high. At Kabuto's instruction, Naruto got a chair and dragged it over to the table, sitting down and drawing the seat closer to the low table.<p>

"Now, did you read the passage I assigned you last night, Naruto?" Kabuto asked.

Naruto nodded, neglecting to mention that he had read almost the entire book the night before, staying up until the early hours of the morning. To his surprise and pleasure the reading had gone fairly quickly and he had barely had to refer to the lexicon at all.

"Good," Kabuto said. He picked up the wooden mannequins, handing one to Naruto. "Can you guess what we'll be doing today?"

Naruto shook his head, perplexed. "You said you would start teaching me clones and kawirimi and things," he said, trying to keep an accusatory, petulant note out of his voice.

"And so I will, but not just yet. Later today I plan to start those things. You will continue your jutsu studies and physical training at the same time as you'll be doing this. No, what I'm trying to teach you is puppetry."

"You know, these little things wouldn't do that much in a fight," Naruto commented dryly, holding up his own little mannequin.

"That is of no significance presently," Kabuto said stiffly. "The point of these is to train you to form chakra threads and use them to manipulate a puppet. Once you have mastered that, we will move on to higher forms of puppetry."

Naruto nodded, showing that he understood. "Can _you_ form chakra threads and all that?" he asked.

Kabuto pushed his glasses up higher on his nose. "I am able, certainly, though I am not a puppet master. However, my knowledge should be sufficient to teach you what you need to know."

"Alright then. What's first?" Kabuto began to describe to Naruto how to stretch small quantities of his chakra out until they were as long and thin as threads, though much stronger. He also indicated that these things, with experience, could be performed quickly enough that chakra strings could be shortened or lengthened as needed during battle. Finally, he demonstrated how to latch the chakra strings onto different segments of the mannequin's body and twitch and manipulate each string to make the mannequin walk and fight.

It all seemed absurdly simple to Naruto, who had a suspicion that there was an awful lot Kabuto was leaving out of his explanation. "Is that it? It that all there is to puppetry?" he asked when Kabuto had finished.

"Of course not. This is no more than the surface; only the things you need to know to control that little wooden puppet. Once you've mastered that, I'll give you more information to accommodate teaching you the next step."

"How many steps are there?" Naruto asked, watching as Kabuto put his own puppet through a complicated series of offensive and defensive moves, dodging and slashing and wheeling and blocking.

"Enough to keep us going for some time." Kabuto said grimly. "To that end, I suggest you make a start. In a few hours, we'll put this to rest for now and I'll begin teaching you about clones."

As Naruto had expected, forming the chakra threads in the way that Kabuto had described didn't prove especially challenging; nor did attaching them to the various joints and segments of the mannequin. The part that gave him really trouble was coordinating the movements of his fingers with how he wanted the little puppet to move. He would often forget which finger controlled which body part or twitch the wrong finger by accident. It was boring, fiddly work and his mind wandered quite a lot as he tried to make the puppet obey his wishes.

In the end, Kabuto seemed to see that Naruto wasn't going to make any more progress than he already had that day and called an early halt to the proceedings.

Naruto helped the older boy push the table and chairs against the wall, leaving a larger space clear for clone making.

Before they started anything, Kabuto, as was his custom, made Naruto recite to him all that he had learned about clones in the academy. After that, Kabuto stayed silent for a minute, thinking hard. As last, he spoke again.

"Okay. Well, it seems like there's not much for me to teach you except to say that your chakra control seems to be where you were lacking the most in the academy. I'd suggest you try to make a clone the way you always did then so I can see how I need to help you."

Naruto raised his hands and placed them together in a seal. "You want me to make two clones, like I always had to do in the academy?" he inquired.

"No, I think one should be fine for now. Once you've got that, it will be easy to make multiple clones," Kabuto said decisively.

Naruto shrugged. "Whatever you say. Here goes. Bunshin No Jutsu!"

There was a puff of smoke. Naruto lowered his hands, waiting to see the result. He knew it would be better than what he had been able to produce in the academy, at least based on chakra control, if nothing else. What he did not expect was, when the smoke cleared, to see a pair of blue eyes at exactly his eye-level, the smoke drifting through them, though they looked more solid than any illusion he had ever seen. Surrounding the eyes was his familiar face, whiskered, blonde-haired and healthy-looking. The clone was identical to him in every way, his height, his build, even wearing the same clothes as he wore- the ones Kabuto had given him the day before- and the same ninja sandals.

Naruto walked around it, bemused, taking in every detail of the clone. He had expected it to be good, but not _that_ good.

"It seems there's nothing for me to teach you." Naruto swiveled around to look at Kabuto. From his tone of voice, Naruto would have sworn he was grinning smugly, but by the time Naruto saw his face it was blank, wiped of expression.

"What now, then? What's next? Kawirimi?" Naruto asked, excited by the prospect of progress he could never have dreamed of back in the academy. Not that Iruka and Mizuki had been bad teachers- Iruka in particular had always been kind to Naruto- they just hadn't had the spare time to slow things down for him and give him the attention he needed.

"No, I think I'll save that for tomorrow, after you've had more practice with puppetry. Now, I think, is an appropriate time for you to work on your aim." A gleam of anticipation crept into his eye. "And your dodging."

Naruto groaned.

* * *

><p>When Naruto finally returned to his room that night, limping a little, carrying a book on sealing that Kabuto had procured for him and swearing under his breath, it was to find a surprise. Apparently, while he had been getting his ass kicked by Kabuto during physical training, the older boy had requested that Naruto receive a desk and swiveling chair for his room. It was a bit small, but then, so was he room. On the desk was a ream of paper and a package of pens and pencils and a kneaded eraser.<p>

Dropping the book on his bed, Naruto headed over to investigate. On top of the paper there was a note from Kabuto reminding Naruto that he would be unable to perform jutsu or channel chakra into any seals he made while in his room. To express his feelings, Naruto crumpled up the paper and shoved it into a drawer of the desk. He wished he had the notes he had made during his first lesson with Kushina.

He set to work, first scribbling down all the ideas he had had the day before, as well as a few new ones that came to him as he wrote. Then he took a new sheet and wrote down everything he could remember Kushina telling him about sealing, placing question marks after statements that he wasn't sure applied in only some circumstances or to all seals in general.

When he was satisfied, he gathered up the papers he had written on and checked them over, reviewing the notes in his spiky, scrawling, though perfectly legible, handwriting.

After that, he at last settled down on his bed, not longer aching from the thrashing Kabuto had given him, to peruse the book. Every once in a while he would get up and cross to his new desk, bringing the book with him, to copy something down or propose and experiment for future testing or write down a new idea.

Once again, he didn't get to sleep until early the next morning.

* * *

><p>Kabuto removed his glasses, rubbing his prickling eyes. He wished that the next shift assigned to watch Naruto sleep might show some initiative and arrive on time for once. <em>Why does Orochimaru-sama insist that we watch him around the clock, anyway? It's not like he knows enough to break out yet. I mean, not even his mother has a twenty fourguard, and she's ANBU level._

Suddenly,Kabuto heard the creak of someone outside of the door and the scrape of a key in the lock of the observation room. _About time,_ he thought grimly. He rose to leave, settling his glasses back into their usual resting place on the bridge of his nose as he did so.

"Oh no, don't leave on my account, Kabuto. Stay awhile." Kabuto froze at the sound of that voice, instantly composing his face into a mask servility.

He sat down once more, suppressing a sigh. "Good evening, Orochimaru-sama," he said.

The pale snake Sannin drew up the chair opposite Kabuto's, his amber, slit-pupiled eyes penetrating through the lenses of Kabuto's glasses and locking on to his tired black eyes, not giving permission for the younger man to back down or look away.

"Actually," Orochimaru said pleasantly, "I believe it to be morning at this point. You really ought to get more rest, Kabuto. It doesn't do for a boy your age to stay up so late."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said, while inside he cursed the old hypocrite. Orochimaru knew perfectly well that Kabuto would have spent all day with Naruto, and yet he went and assigned the silver-haired boy the early shift…

Kabuto adjusted his glasses to hide his annoyance.

"To cut straight to the point, Kabuto, I have already read that report you submitted a few hours ago and wanted to come down here and hear the facts straight from you. You say the Puppet-master's DNA is already beginning to take effect?"

"I believe that to be correct, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said, leaning forward eagerly. "Naruto showed considerable development in the areas of strategizing, literacy, planning, creativity, and the like. In addition, he grasped the concept of chakra strings and puppetry with a bare minimum of instruction from me and was able to create a perfect clone on the first try where before that, Mizuki tells me, he could not even come close. In my opinion, all of these things are benefits of the Puppet-master's DNA and, if you require it, I may even be able to prove it if I try plotting this increase in intelligence, competence, and proficiency from before the injection onwards-" but here Orochimaru held up a hand and Kabuto fell silent.

"That will not be necessary, Kabuto, though I admire your enthusiasm. Your word is sufficient for me." Kabuto nodded, betraying no emotions. "Why don't you tell me about Naruto's sealing, instead?" Orochimaru suggested.

"Much as we had predicted, the boy shows and instinctive grasp of sealing," Kabuto said.

"Well, he's got it on both sides, even without Sasori's DNA," Orochimaru pointed out. "Please continue."

"Most of his ideas show innovation and insight such that when the time comes, I believe he will have no trouble applying his knowledge of seals to the creation of puppets," Kabuto said.

"Is that so? Excellent," Orochimaru said. "Well, as usual, Kabuto, your progress with the boy seems perfectly satisfactory. Keep up the good work and all that and I'll- yes? There was something else you wanted to say?"

Kabuto had cleared his throat meaningfully. "As a matter of fact, there is, Orochimaru-sama."

"Well spit out this 'matter of fact,' as I'm sure you'd like to get to bed soon."

Kabuto spoke quickly but steadily, as though wanting to get the words out before he lost his nerve, important as they were. "Not that I wish to question the advisability of teaching the boy sealing," he said, choosing his words carefully, "But I feel it is my duty to remind you that in the course of his fuinjutsu studies, it may be difficult to prevent Naruto from discovering the powers he gained from the DNA of the Paper mistress. After all, neither he nor Kushina is yet aware of the experiments that are being performed on him, and inadvertent discovery could be… troublesome, to say the least."

"You bring up a valid concern," Orochimaru admitted. "However, I would not have put you in charge of this project if I did not believe you capable of dealing with things like this, Kabuto. I'll leave this matter in your hands. I'm sure you can come up with a way of dealing with it discretely."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

* * *

><p>(One month ago, the day after Naruto's abduction)<p>

Sarutobi sat in his office. To any onlooker, it would seem that he was heavily ensconced in his paperwork, reading over the thick packet before him with attentive single-mindedness. But they would have been wrong.

On that day, more than any other, Sarutobi's mind was even farther from the task at hand than usual. The day before, Iruka had informed him of Naruto's failure to perform the jutsu necessary to be declared a genin.

Not that Sarutobi was altogether surprised, Naruto being two years younger than all of his classmates. Sometimes the Sandiame wondered if he had done the right thing in pushing Naruto into the academy so early. But these were not the things that distracted the old man from getting on with his workload this time.

No, it was the fact that Naruto had not come to see him since before he left for the academy the day before. Sarutobi had a nagging feeling that something was amiss, a feeling he knew it would not be wise to ignore. However, he found it hard to justify taking time off to look for Naruto. The boy often went off on his own, occasionally disappearing for days at a time, and Sarutobi couldn't just take off after him every time.

The only reason that Sarutobi could see that would make this absence more sinister than any other time was the fact that it directly followed what was no doubt a huge emotional blow for Naruto: failing to achieve the required results to become a genin.

Sarutobi sighed, rubbing his eyes with his forefinger and thumb. Why was he suddenly reminded of that time, ten years ago, when Kushina had stormed into his office, demanding that he send a search party out to locate her son?

There was a tactful knock at the door. Sarutobi all but jumped, but was almost immediately reassured. _It can't be Kushina. That knock was far too polite for her._

"Come in," he called. It could be important, he reasoned. His paperwork could wait.

The door was pushed open and someone slipped inside. Sarutobi, who had been expecting an ANBU, was slightly surprised, though he recovered his composure well. The man had dark eyes and mid-length silver hair, around which he tied black bandana with his hitai-ate attached to the front.

"Ah, Mizuki-san," Sarutobi greeted him. "You wanted a word?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Mizuki approached the desk, better to see the Sandiame over the piles of papers. "It's about Naruto Uzumaki."

Sarutobi sat up in his chair. His voice was tense and he gripped the edge of the desk. "You have news of him? Mizuki-san, what has happened to Naruto?"

"Merely that Kushina arrived in Konoha last night. She took Naruto with her, bidding me tell you that they were leaving, as she was displeased at Naruto's treatment at the hands of the villagers while he lived in Konoha."

Sarutobi frowned a little. "She left without coming to see me?"

"Apparently so, Hokage-sama. She merely entrusted me with the message as I was the closest shinobi to her who was out on the streets at that hour."

"That doesn't sound like Kushina," Sarutobi mused.

"No, Hokage-sama?"

"Well, if she was angry about how the villagers treated Naruto, I would have expected her to come bursting in here, complaining about it."

"Ah, yes. She thought you'd say that. She admitted that, given her own way, she would have come marching up here to perform deeds such as the type that would make the council slap a death sentence on her head."

"Your words, I presume?"

"Mostly, Hokage-sama. I edited it somewhat for content."

"I wonder why she _didn't_ come marching up here, though," Sarutobi persisted.

"One can only assume that she was concerned about her son's wellbeing in that scenario," Mizuki pointed out.

"In that case, where has the woman been for the last ten years of Naruto's life? Did she say?" Sarutobi asked indignantly.

"She did not, Hokage-sama, nor did she say where she was taking Naruto. However, she did say that she might get in contact with you at her earliest convenience. Or when she stopped being so angry."

"I may have a while to wait then," Sarutobi sighed. "Ah well. Can't be helped, I suppose. At least I know that Naruto is safe."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Well, if you'll excuse me Mizuki, as hard as I pray, this paperwork isn't going to do itself."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Mizuki made his exit.

* * *

><p>(Present-day, Orochimaru's study)<p>

Orochimaru idly leafed through Naruto's file. Though the boy had only been staying in the labs for a little over a month, his file was already sizeable, and Kabuto added new information and updates to it practically every day.

_I wasn't wrong when I called Kabuto enthusiastic,_ Orochimaru reflected. However, he also believed that he had been right to choose Kabuto to head the project. Despite his youth and relative inexperience, Kabuto was skilled, thorough, methodical. _Just the kind of subordinate I could use more of around here,_ Orochimaru reflected.

In fact, though he would never dream of enlightening Kabuto to the fact, Orochimaru was rather relieved that he had not had to sacrifice Kabuto to the DNA project. Doing so would have been something of a waste, in his opinion, not that it would have prevented him from going ahead an injecting Kabuto anyway.

_At least this way, if the Uzumaki boy is consistent in his resilience to the DNA, when I possess his body I will have someone competent at my right-hand side._

Now, Orochimaru's thoughts turned to the Uzumaki boy himself. Under Kabuto's tutelage the boy was shaping up to be as powerful as, if not more so than, Kabuto himself. If it weren't for the fact that nobody had yet survived the experiment, Orochimaru may have even considered _not_ possessing Naruto's body. _With all that power, he might yet make the perfect, loyal subordinate. If it weren't for his troublesome Konohagakure morals, I would even have hoped that he would come around to my way of thinking in a few years. But no, it's better this way. He will gain the powers and serve me in the best way possible: by becoming my new skin._

Orochimaru flipped through to the front of Naruto's file folder. There were the predictions that Kabuto had made at the beginning of the experiment. Of course, every time Orochimaru decided that it was time for Naruto to be given a new ability, he would have Kabuto write a whole new set of conjectures about how the new ability would interact with those Naruto had already been given.

* * *

><p>Kushina looked up at the scrape of the lock. It wasn't the time that someone usually came with food for her, so it must be Orochimaru, after something from her as ever.<p>

She got a surprise when a figure entered and it was not the snake Sannin, but the silver-haired boy, Kabuto. It had been a few days since she had seen him last, since she had given Naruto his first lesson on sealing. She treated him to the same silence she always gave Orochimaru when he came to see her and did not rise. After a moment, the boy sat down to be on her eye-level.

"Hello, Uzumaki-san," Kabuto said coolly.

"Hello, boot-licking scum," Kushina responded, imitating Kabuto's cool, precise voice.

To his credit, Kabuto seemed unfazed. "You may be wondering why I'm down here, Uzumaki-san.'

"Nothing of the sort, Kabuto."

Kabuto blinked slowly, the only indication he gave that her familiarity was unwelcome.

"Ooh, you're _good._ Most of the other guards would be furious by now," Kushina said casually.

"I am not a guard, Uzumaki-san."

"You're right, you're too good to be a guard. You must be one of the higher-ups. One of the ones who kiss Orochimaru's ass _directly,_ as opposed to through a low position in the hierarchy," Kushina said, smirking.

"You must feel fairly secure in your wellbeing, Uzumaki-san, as well as the wellbeing of your son." Kabuto gave a nasty smile. "I take it you believe me now that he _is_ your son?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Kushina said, tilting her head first to one side, then the other. "But, getting back to your other point, yeah, I think both of us are pretty secure. You wouldn't put a month of training into that kid just to kill him or risk damaging him in some unstable experiment."

"But what about you?" Kabuto persisted, "Are you, perhaps, expendable?"

"Oh I _know_ I am, Kabuto. But at least for now, I'm pretty safe. You want me to teach Naruto, and at the rate of one or two lessons a week, I'd say I've got a few months before you realize I'm not going to teach him any secrets you could exploit. I figure then you'll probably just stop feeding me the antidote to the squatter poison in my system and let that do its work quickly and quietly, probably in some sound-proof cell." Kushina spoke with remarkable nonchalance, as though she was discussing nothing more than the new price of shinobi weaponry.

Kabuto pushed his glasses up higher on his nose and opened his mouth to speak, but Kushina swiftly cut him off.

"I'll bet you're lousy at poker."

"How do you figure?" Kabuto asked, his train of thought momentarily derailed.

"The way you push you glasses up, I guessing that's your tell," Kushina said confidently.

Kabuto gave a thin smile. "I wouldn't know, Uzumaki-san, I don't gamble."

Kushina snorted. "I'll just bet you don't. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here, throwing your lot in with Orochimaru, would you? Why are you really here? Because I'd bet money it's not for the babysitting experience. And don't give me that whole, 'I am here to do exactly as my master requires,' crap."

Kabuto was silent for a moment. "I can see how you achieved your ANBU status, Uzumaki-san," Kabuto said at last.

"Why thank you, Kabuto. Though you know, sucking up to sensei doesn't get you a better grade in my class. Whether you're here out of loyalty to Orochimaru or loyalty to someone else, your still one of the old snake's lackeys, and, as such, will feel the full wrath of my scorching sarcasm."

"I expected nothing less of you, Uzumaki-san."

"Good boy. Now, why the hell are you slumming down here with the inmates? As fun as it is to trade insults with you, I bet your going to be in trouble with the big man himself if you don't deliver some trifling message or warning or other, and, no offence, but the sooner you leave, the sooner I can back to trying to escape from these handcuffs."

Kabuto made a mental note to post extra guards outside of Kushina's door.

_Shit. I'll bet he's just made a mental note to change my handcuffs or post more guards or something. Damn lackeys can't take a joke…_

Kabuto cleared his throat. "As it happens, I just wanted to congratulate you. You seemed to have lit quite the inspirational fire in your son. He seems completely obsessed with sealing now, to be frank."

"Well, what did he expect? If he's my son, he's a Namikaze on one side and an Uzumaki on the other. Sealing's in his blood, almost literally, thanks to the Kyuubi."

"Yes, quite." Kabuto stood, preparing to leave. "Just do not forget your boundaries. If you take a single step out of line, both you and he will be punished."

_Ooh, a trifling message _and_ a warning! I called it! _Kushina saluted with her bound hands. "Roger."

"Good." Kabuto opened to door, smiling at Kushina as he left. "Have a pleasant rest of the day, Uzumaki-san. Good luck with those handcuffs."

* * *

><p>Over the course of the next few weeks, Naruto's abilities rapidly improved. When Kabuto taught Naruto kawirimi, the blonde boy thoroughly annoyed the silver-haired one by using it and dodging most of his attacks during physical training. It got to such an extent that Kabuto was forced to ban Naruto from using it during training.<p>

"I understand that you are proud that you achieved it, and I'm impressed that you can use it so often without feeling the drain, but it defeats the purpose of the training if you are not considering other options of blocking or dodging. What if you were almost out of chakra? What then? You have to train for that eventuality, Naruto."

"Whatever, you just want your human target back," Naruto said, earning himself a blow to the ribs.

In addition to Kawirimi, Kabuto also taught Naruto henge, with some mixed results. Kabuto was only halfway through his explanation of the jutsu when Naruto took it upon himself to test it. What he ended up with was not only a perfect henge of Kabuto, but a perfect _transformation,_ the difference being that Naruto's henge was a solid clone of his sensei, rather than the illusion that most henges really are. After discovering this, Kabuto made Naruto perform the transformation several times, just to make sure it wasn't a one-time thing and that Naruto could repeat it if need be.

Then he made Naruto learn how to do it the right way.

Naruto couldn't really find a place to apply this jutsu to his spars with Kabuto, although that didn't stop him trying. For a week or so after he learned the jutsu, Kabuto would occasionally find himself sparring with the third Hokage, himself, Mizuki, or a large bowl of ramen, respectively. Finally, he told Naruto to knock it off.

Once Naruto knew all of the three basic jutsu, Kabuto set about teaching him to perform them seal-less and smoke-less, a task that took no more than a few weeks. Much harder were the puppetry studies that Naruto was undertaking at the same time. It took him quite some time to master the coordination needed to control the tiny mannequin, and privately thought that he would have even more difficulty once Kabuto started him using life-size battle-puppets.

However, he did eventually get the hang of it, and he spent several long hours practicing various taijutsu styles with it, just for Kabuto suggest that their mannequins fight it out, for fun. Naruto should have known better by then than to agree.

As he was morbidly gathering up the pieces of his little wooden puppet, Kabuto seemed to take pity on him. Telling Naruto to leave the pieces, he led him over to a table on which there was a deep tray. Kabuto took hold of the tray and spread its contents out on the table. The things were various segments and joints of a wooden puppet larger than the ones Naruto and Kabuto had been using, perhaps twelve inches high when it was all in one piece.

Kabuto instructed Naruto to refer to his knowledge of human anatomy and of puppets and put the mannequin back together. Sighing, Naruto set to work on the three-dimensional jigsaw. No sooner than he had completed it than Kabuto took it away, handing him another one of a similar size, though it was of different build and make, and instructing him to dismantle it and then reconstruct it. Naruto complied. Kabuto had left the room while Naruto completed his task. Though the older boy tried to hide it, Naruto could tell he was pleased when he returned to find Naruto practicing with the newly reconstructed mannequin, making it walk and fight.

Enthusiastic though Naruto was in all areas of his studies, in no subject was he more attentive than fuinjutsu. Naruto came to anticipate his time spent with Kushina-sensei, or Kaa-sensei as he came to know her.

Every time they met, he brought new ideas to run by her. She, in turn, suggested variations to consider and explained various concepts he could apply to all of his seals. In addition to this, she continued teaching him more common seals; always breaking them down first and teaching the basics and the components first, so that even after he learned the seal she was specifically teaching about he could apply the inner working to other projects. As of yet, Naruto had not completed any of the seals, preferring to develop all of them as far as he could before he got down to the relatively simple business of drawing up the seal.

After several weeks, Naruto had learned to make not only exploding seals, but also how to make various vacuum seals. Kushina had also explained about Summoning seals to him, bemoaning the fact that she had no summoning contract to show him. She also described a varied wealth of situations in which seals could be useful and how one seal could be changed with the tiniest of variations to be more efficient or more effective.

As with all of the things Kushina told Naruto, he seemed to immediately grasp the concept of different variations of the same type of seal and began adding subtypes to all of his ideas, variables that could be exploited and variables that should be dealt with to make the seal design sleeker and more foolproof.

* * *

><p>After those several weeks, Naruto was sitting at his desk in his room during one of his few days off, copying down a diagram from the book he was holding open with his left hand. There was a tap at the door.<p>

"Come in, Kabuto," Naruto said, not looking up.

Kabuto entered, a rueful smile on his face. "Busy?" he asked.

Naruto nodded, carefully laying his pencil down in the crease between the open pages of his book to keep his place. With one last lingering look as his copied diagram, he swiveled around in his chair. "What do you need?" he asked.

"How about this?" Kabuto asked, holding the door open wider. "I won't ask the obvious, 'How did you know it was me at the door?' question and you come with me to take another vitamin supplement."

Naruto smirked, standing and crossing to the door in a few strides. "I knew it was you because no one else comes to visit me here," he explained.

Kabuto locked the door as they left, before leading Naruto down the hallway, toward the labs. "I know. That's why I didn't ask."

* * *

><p>AN: And done! Unfortunately, this will be the last update you'll see for at least four weeks, because in that time I will not have a computer to access (must maintain composure.) I'm actually far happier with this chapter than I have any right to be, so I'm going to borrow NorthSouthGorem's style of doing chapter summaries (you'll understand if you toddle off and read his stuff)

1) Naruto had his first lesson with Kushina, and I'd say it was a hit. He learned to blow stuff up and Kushina did a little digging into how he fell into Orochimaru's scaly hands. Then Kabuto butted in. Awkward, teenage, pony-tailed bast- damn this is starting to sound like me.  
>2) Naruto thinks about seals and reads about puppets. Story of his life (?)<br>3) Naruto starts learning the basics of puppet manipulation and discovers that he can, in fact, perform the bunshin no jutsu flawlessly.  
>4) Naruto gets a new piece of furniture (!) (I think these insights into Naruto's daily life in Orochimaru's labs add some color to the story)<br>5) Orochimaru is creepy as usual and Kabuto voices a concern about Naruto discovering Konan's DNA while making seals.  
>6) You learn why Sarutobi isn't scrambling a team of ANBU to find Naruto. The fact is, Mizuki spun him a huge pack of lies about Kushina coming and claiming Naruto and leaving with him in the night.<br>7) Orochimaru is creepy (again) as he starts to rely on Kabuto more and more (don't do that, Orochimaru! Kabuto might just be a spy for your enemies!) He also thinks about just how far Naruto has come with just two DNA samples.  
>8) Kushina and Kabuto mince words a bit and Kabuto like to think he had the upper hand, but Kushina really won. For those who complain that Kabuto is just a kid and that Kushina was cursing, well, he's a big boy. He can handle it. (Finally! Something funny in this story!)<br>9) Over a several week period, Naruto learns the rest of the basic three jutsu and gets them all down seal-less and smoke-less. He also practices more with puppets and with being able to dismantle and build his own. More on this later. Meanwhile, he grows ever closer to Kushina and learns to create vacuum seal and learns some principles that will come in handy while learning to make storage seals.  
>10) Kabuto takes Naruto away for more "vitamins." (By now, you all ought to know that 'vitamins' really mean 'creepy human genetic experiments.')<p>

Next Chapter- Naruto grows bluish scales that he doesn't know what to do with.

As ever, if you liked this chapter, please Review. If you wait too long, I may not be able to answer for several weeks, but if you hurry, I'll get back to you immediately. So Please Review! Goodbye!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, this challenge belongs to dracohalo117, and whatever is left belongs to me.

* * *

><p>Once Kabuto had finished checking Naruto's restraints, He glanced up and caught sight of a blurred shape in the mirror. Predictably, when he turned, he saw Orochimaru standing with his back to the room, preparing something on counter by the wall.<p>

"Are we ready to proceed, Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked respectfully.

"Not quite yet." Orochimaru turned to face Kabuto, taking a few steps forward to bring him level with the table on which Naruto laid. Kabuto noticed that Orochimaru held a vial, and put out a hand automatically to receive it. However, Orochimaru drew it back out of his reach. Kabuto dropped his hand to his side and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Not just yet, Kabuto. Before you begin, I want your opinion on several matters."

"My opinion reflects my master's will, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said without hesitation.

"As is to be expected." Orochimaru smirked. "Perhaps I ought to make myself more clear; I want the benefit of your expertise on a matter. I want you to honestly tell me if certain tests I seek to run would be advisable."

"What would these tests entail?" Kabuto pushed his glasses up, meeting his master's golden eyes.

In answer, Orochimaru transferred the vial he was holding to his other hand, fished in his pocket for a moment, then drew out two more vials. "These would throw off your predictions, but other than that, can I safely give them to the boy? What is your opinion?" Kabuto opened his mouth and Orochimaru quickly added, "Succinctly, Kabuto."

"Naturally Orochimaru-sama. May I see the vials?" Orochimaru handed them over and Kabuto focused on one, turning it in his hands so he could read the label. After a minute, he met Orochimaru's eyes. "This is DNA from Jugo, the shape shifter, isn't it?" Orochimaru made a motion for him to go on. "You are considering adding this to Naruto's experimental procedures?"

"Would you advise it?" Orochimaru shot back. "Do you think he would benefit?"

"Certainly he would benefit, with Jugo's unique abilities," Kabuto said slowly, "but I still do not think it advisable. Our researchers have no idea to what extent Jugo's unstable personality is DNA-coded. You could risk transferring the same behavioral patterns to Naruto, which would, in turn, be transferred to you when you take control of Naruto's body. However, am I correct in thinking that you are perfecting a transferrable version of Jugo's powers? If that is the case, once you discover a safe way to transfer these powers, that method could easily be applied to Naruto, perhaps with no ill ramifications."

"I see." Orochimaru took the vial back, pocketing it. "And what of the other sample?"

Kabuto lifted the other vial so he could read the label, and, a minute later, he shot Orochimaru a look tinged with alarm.

"I take it you don't recommend this one, either," Orochimaru said drily.

"That is so, Orochimaru-sama. This is DNA from the Kaguya boy. The one, I take it, who is currently having to increase his medicinal intake dosage practically weekly."

"Your point, Kabuto?"

"My point is that not only is his disease in all likelihood _fatal,_ but its origin is completely unknown to us. The medication has little effect, and it would not be prudent to risk transferring the disease to a valuable test subject."

"You do not think the Kyuubi would prevent the disease from taking effect?"

"I do not think we ought to take the risk that once the Kyuubi is extracted, the disease will not take effect."

"I see," Orochimaru said again.

"Is that all, Orochimaru-sama?"

"Not quite. There's still the matter of the boy's infusion."

"Ah, of course. And which sample will he be receiving?"

Orochimaru slipped the sample of Kimimaro's DNA into his pocket, withdrawing the first vial once more and passing it to Kabuto, explaining, "This is a compound that contains genetic material salvaged from the scales of Samehada. Your predictions about both the powers it would give the boy and how it would affect him physically were rather vague."

Kabuto whitened. "Surely you are not suggesting that we give him that now!"

Orochimaru's smile dropped abruptly and he narrowed his eyes. Kabuto seemed to realize his mistake, as he swallowed and bent his head, breaking eye contact to regard the floor. "Know your place, Kabuto," Orochimaru said coldly, "and do not presume to question me. If you are concerned about hiding the changes from the boy, I'd advise you to keep him sedated until you have a course of action in that regard. Otherwise, the boy's training is to resume as usual once he wakes up. Keep him practicing seals and puppetry, but as for jutsu, there will be no need to teach him more than advanced control exercises and the basic three. If you have promised to teach him anything, do not disappoint, keep up your act, but begin to focus more on the boy's physical training."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru considered Kabuto's still-inclined head. "Do not disappoint me, Kabuto. My patience where the boy is concerned is all but non-existent. You would do well not to try it."

"No more than I would expect, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto winced as he felt a brief rush of air, heard the slam of the door that led to the hallway. He straightened up, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and pushing up his glasses with the other. After a moment of staring at the door, unseeing, gathering his thoughts, he turned toward where Naruto lay on the table. Slowly, deliberately, he began to hook the younger boy up to all of the various monitors and meters that he had become accustomed to checking during these brief spells of Naruto's unconsciousness.

When he was finished, he administered another shot of sedative- The Kyuubi would ensure it didn't kill the blonde, and Kabuto really didn't want the boy waking up now, not after all of their secrecy in these matters. Then, holding his right hand steady with his left, he injected Naruto with the infusion.

And sat down to wait. And observe.

Barely ten minutes after administering the compound, Kabuto noticed something. A definite darkening of the veins around Naruto's right forearm, where he had injected the fluid. Though the prick-mark had healed the instant the needle had been removed, the darkness spread. By the time twenty minutes had passed since initial injection, all of the veins in Naruto's right arm from wrist to shoulder were swollen, pressing against his skin, purple-black and pulsing. Over the next hour, there was nothing Kabuto could do but watch helplessly as the dark veins claimed more of Naruto's body, spreading down around his chest, right shoulder blade, ribs, and even curling around his and lower back. It was half and hour after Kabuto gloomily noted the veins were visible clearly around Naruto's right hip that it happened.

The darkened veins had been spreading slowly across Naruto's face, and had long since formed thick, ropey masses centering on his eyes. Kabuto reached out a hand and gently turned Naruto's head to see the veins creeping around the back of his head, disappearing under his hair. Kabuto just barely noted the dark mass that had settled over the base of the blonde boy's skull, before he felt a tingling sensation in his fingertips. Hastily, he whipped his hand back, flexing his fingers and rubbing life back into them. It didn't seem that much damage had been done. In fact, it merely felt as though the fingers that had been touching Naruto's head had fallen asleep, the blood paused in its circulation.

_He drained the chakra in my fingers?_ Kabuto leaned over Naruto, and as his shadow fell over the boy, blocking the fluorescent light from his face, Naruto's eyes flew open. Kabuto backed up hastily at the sight of those eyes. They were the same cloudy purple-black as the malignant veins that mapped out most of Naruto's body, pupil, sclera, and all.

Naruto stared unseeingly at the ceiling, and for a moment, it seemed that he was straining every muscle in his body, fighting against the restraints. Then he slumped, his eyes half-closing. Kabuto watched as the darkness drained from those eyes, receding and leaving the eyes their normal bright blue. The silver-haired boy could not help but sigh in relief as the blackness began to dissipate from Naruto's veins. The process took far less time than it had taken for the darkness to spread in the first place, and twenty minutes later, there was almost no trace that Naruto's appearance had ever changed.

Kabuto, satisfied, was on the point of unstrapping the boy and unhooking him from the monitors, when, on impulse, he decided to test a hunch of his. Surrounding his hand in the familiar green glow of a healing jutsu, he lowered his hand toward Naruto's right arm.

The response was immediate. Tiny, gray-blue scales pushed through the skin beneath Kabuto's hand, eagerly expanding and contracting as they absorbed Kabuto's jutsu. As Kabuto brought his hand away, noting that not even the smallest amount of chakra remained from his jutsu, he was in time to study the small scales properly. They were thicker and wider than a snake's scales, baring sharp-looking edges. Though they held a similar overlapping pattern to snake scales, they did not quite lie flat. No sooner than he had assessed this much, however, the scales withdrew, leaving behind little slits in the skin that were instantly healed, no doubt through Kyuubi-induced methods.

Kabuto let out a long breath, running both hands over his face, hard, pushing his glasses up onto his forehead as he did so. This would require many more tests and, if the time when Naruto had been given Konan's DNA was any indicator, buckets of sedative.

* * *

><p>After nearly half a week of tests, of frantically scribbling notes, of letting sleep take a backseat to keeping Naruto in his drug-induced state, Kabuto was just about ready to hand this assignment over to someone else.<p>

Through methodical trial-and-error, Kabuto had discovered a number of useful facts about Naruto's new abilities. For one thing, range did not appear to be a factor. Jutsu used _around_ Naruto remained intact, at least unless they got too close. The scales did not manifest until jutsu that were directed at Naruto were less than five inches from his skin, at which point they would spring forth and absorb the incoming jutsu, or rather, they would unravel the incoming jutsu and transfer it into pure chakra and absorb that in less than a second. This applied to elemental jutsu as well, absorbing the innate natural chakra from the attacks and leaving the elements themselves untouched. After those tests, Kabuto could generally be found brushing ordinary dirt off of his test subject.

For another thing, the scales would appear only on the area of skin that would have been affected by whatever jutsu was headed Naruto's way and nowhere else, and did so consistently without conscious direction from the sleeping boy. Kabuto also learned that the scales would only absorb chakra from jutsu directed _at_ Naruto. Genjutsu or kawirimis were in no way affected by the absorption, even when used within the five inches of the unconscious boy's skin or on Naruto himself. On a similar note, when Kabuto laid his hand on Naruto's arm, concentrating on not channeling any chakra at all, he found that the scales did not appear to begin sucking away at his inactive reserves. When he began to channel unformed chakra in a manner similar to what was required for a leaf-floating exercise, however, that chakra was instantly absorbed.

In addition to these discoveries, Kabuto found that the scales themselves did not provide a layer of armor thick enough to protect from any attacks that were purely physical. When cut apart with a kunai, smashed, removed, chipped, or damaged by ordinary fire, that is to say that the flames which contained no chakra, or damaged in any other way Kabuto cared to test, the scales regrew whole within seconds, but did nothing to stop the physical attacks from reaching Naruto's skin beneath.

On the fourth day of testing, Kabuto made one other discovery that caused him to swear loudly. He was testing the extent of the scale coverage on Naruto's body by forming a chakra scalpel around his hand and gently moving it across Naruto's skin, watching in fascination as tiny waves of blue-gray scale sprang up to drag at the chakra he was putting out, before disappearing as the jutsu passed them over. Kabuto had tested Naruto's entire right half, face, arms, back, and chest before he ran into any complications.

As soon as the scalpel travelled down to the left side of Naruto's ribs, blood suddenly bloomed under the edge of the translucent green blade. Kabuto immediately withdrew his hand, waiting for the damage to heal, which it did within seconds. Kabuto switched the jutsu around his hand to the benign glow of a healing jutsu. He ran this over the left half of Naruto's ribcage, growing worried when no scales made an appearance, particularly when he moved his hand to Naruto's right side once more and the scales sprang up instantly and he felt the familiar drain on his jutsu. Moving his hand back to Naruto's left half, the drain disappeared, as did the scales.

_What could have caused the spread to be incomplete?_ Kabuto wondered, franticly racking his brains. Suddenly, he remembered the dark veins from the day that Naruto had received the transfusion in the first place. _The veins never spread entirely to his left half!_ Kabuto realized. Quickly, using the medical jutsu still pulsing around his fingers, he tested his theory. Indeed, though Naruto's entire back, head, arms, chest, and right half reacted to the jutsu with tiny waves of scales, Naruto's lower ribcage on the left side and his entire left leg and hip did not react at all.

Finally, Kabuto let the jutsu fade, slumping in a chair by the high table. Glancing at the monitors to reassure himself that Naruto was still sedated, Kabuto leaned forward with a groan, his head in his hands. _It's not as bad as it could be,_ he reassured himself. _He could have died from that transfer. The liquid could have rejected Naruto's chakra strain, particularly with all of the foreign substances that are in it at this point, and he could have died. Instead, he lives._ This was perfectly true. _But how will I keep these new powers from Naruto? Presumably the scales will not interfere with his own jutsu, so I suppose I'll just have to revert to using pure taijutsu against him in our spars in future. _Kabuto's expression turned thoughtful. _Kushina most likely won't notice the change or remark on Naruto's absence, seeing as she only sees him once or twice a week, and the dates are never fixed or regular. With any luck, she won't notice the scales, either, as I doubt she'd use a jutsu against her own son. Perhaps I ought to reinforce that point with her._

* * *

><p>Kushina had plenty of time to affix a smirk to her face as Kabuto made his way into her cell. Once more, he sat down before her, his back resting against the door. "'Sup, string bean?" she asked, before he had a chance to speak.<p>

Kabuto smiled coldly. "Just business, I'm afraid."

"Aw, Kabuto," Kushina whined. "How many times do I have to tell you? If you decide you want anything that _isn't_ strictly business, don't contact me! I'm not going to pay you for that stuff!"

Kabuto's expression was slightly bored as he continued. "One of our useful spies in Konoha reports that the Hokage, while never having been worried in the past about you disappearance all those years ago, is getting suspicious that he has not received a letter from you yet."

Kushina's eyes narrowed. She couldn't help it. "What lies are you feeding Sarutobi-sama?" she snarled.

"The Hokage is under the impression that you finally tracked Naruto down after all of these years and immediately brought him away from Konoha, not stopping first to visit Hokage-sama." Kabuto shook his head mockingly. "How impolite."

"What do you want with me, then?"

"You are going to write your friend Sarutobi a letter, in which you will tell him that you and Naruto are safe and together."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because if you do not, we will hurt Naruto," Kabuto said simply. "And if you attempt to write in code, or you write something I do not find suitable, you will start again, and will not receive your antidote until you have finished. Wouldn't it be a shame if Naruto became an orphan? What would we tell him? After all, he already thinks he is one. But to lose his Kaa-sensei…."

"Okay, letter, got it. Anything else, scumbag?" Kushina growled.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Kabuto resisted the impulse to push up his glasses. Kushina smirked, and Kabuto knew that she had seen his hand twitch and guessed his thought process.

"Well?"

"You are on no account to use any jutsu on or against Naruto."

Kushina's lip curled. "I gotta say, Kabuto, that's pretty low, even for you. Was there a doubt that I wouldn't use jutsu against a harmless kid? Because if there was, I'd just love to know the reason for it. Is he dangerous or unstable? Shouldn't you be telling me these things?"

This time, Kabuto really did push his glasses farther up his nose. It gave him time to consider the phrasing of his answer. "Of course there is nothing wrong with your son. We're taking excellent care of him."

"Which certainly puts my mind at rest, you can be sure."

Kabuto smiled coldly. "Stick to writing your letters to Hokage-sama and let the rest of us worry about our jobs."

Kushina snorted. "Jobs? That's a bit of an overstatement. From all _I've_ observed, you're just Orochimaru's bitch, doing his dirty work and delivering his warnings."

"And yet, I can leave, while the more cynical of the two of us will have to remain here, power dampened." Kabuto stood and turned his back on Kushina, placing a hand on the doorknob.

From behind him, Kushina spoke up once more. "I'd be careful if I were you. Not that I give a shit what happens to you in here, but don't be so quick to assume you'll be able to just walk out on the service of the old Snake."

Kabuto stood, indecisive. Should he answer? Without turning around, he said quietly, "That's the second time you've said something in that vein. Do you know something I don't?"

"Only what happened to me." Kabuto heard the rattle of chains and allowed his eyes to fall closed briefly. He left without looking at the red-haired woman.

* * *

><p>For the third time since he had arrived at the labs, Naruto opened his eyes to see the now-familiar surroundings of his bedroom with no memory of the previous days. He sat up, tense, running his fingers through his spiky hair. "Hey, Kabuto," he said tentatively. Less than a minute later, the silver-haired boy appeared holding a stack of books, pushing open the door to peer down at Naruto, still perched on the edge of his bed, cradling his head in his hands.<p>

An ice-cold sliver of panic wriggled into Kabuto's heart at the sight. Did Naruto suspect? "You called?" he said tentatively.

Naruto dropped his hands into his lap and turned his head to face the older boy, frowning. "Kabuto, why is it that when you take me away for these vitamins, I always wake up in my bed with this big gap in my memory?"

Kabuto, seeking to hide the fact that his mind was in a whirling panic, stepped fully into the room, allowing the door to swing closed behind him. "Ah, I see that I must have forgotten to inform you. You see, the vitamins you are taking have a slight anesthetic mixed in, just as a fail-safe for any unexpected side-effects, which ends up putting you to sleep and, I assume, affecting your memory."

"I don't like that it's messing with my memory," Naruto said, a low growl in his voice. "Why didn't you tell me that would happen?"

"I didn't tell you it would because usually it doesn't. It only affects certain patients the way it does you, and I had no idea it would do that to you," Kabuto invented, keeping his blank, clinical façade up.

"Can't you find a way to give me the vitamins but not the memory-loss?" Naruto asked.

Kabuto resisted the urge to sag with relief. "I'll see what I can come up with, but I'll make no promises.

"Alright, then." Naruto stood, waited for Kabuto to leave, then followed the older boy out into the hallway. "So, what's on today's agenda?"

"Take a guess." Kabuto led Naruto through the compound and into one of their usual training rooms. On one of the tables in the room were a few large crates and sheets of paper.

Without waiting to be asked, Naruto moved to investigate the crates. Removing the lids, he peered inside, before pulling out a piece of wood roughly a foot long. It had a joint partway down its length, allowing it to bend in one direction. Naruto examined the piece for a moment, turning it around and testing the joint. Finally, he glanced up a Kabuto. "Puppet arm?" he asked.

Kabuto nodded affirmation.

Naruto weighed the piece in his hands, frowning. "It's pretty heavy to be part of battle-puppet. I'm guessing there aren't any hidden compartments, which would make it lighter as well as make good places to put weapons, either for storage or so the puppet could wield them."

"Very good," Kabuto said, giving a rare smile. "You're right, no one is going to be using the pieces of this puppet to fight. They're only here to help you with the next project I want you to work on."

"And what's that?"

"I want you to take a good look at all of these puppet pieces and design three different puppets using only these parts. For now, design only how the pieces would be constructed, not how the puppet would be augmented. I want you to make two of the designs humanoid and the last one abstract or animal-like, using the same pieces."

Naruto nodded, placing the crates on a different table and beginning to unload parts from them. "Am I allowed to assume, in my designs, that I can dismantle pieces where they have joints?"

"For the abstract design and one of the humanoid ones, yes. However, I would like you to construct one of the humanoid designs on the understanding that you cannot alter the pieces here. However, joints are no problem, so you may plan to use hinged joints as ball-and-socket joints instead, if you prefer. Just remember when you are drawing up your designs, these puppets will be meant for battle, so plan accordingly."

Naruto nodded, not looking up from where he was arranging the wooden parts and Kabuto wondered if Naruto was even listening to him. Kabuto shrugged internally. The boy looked like he knew what he was doing. So Kabuto took a chair from one of the tables in the room and dragged it toward the wall. He sat, pulling his knees up until he could cross his legs in the seat of the chair, and turned to the small pile of books he had brought. They were to be Naruto's next reading assignments, but Kabuto wanted to skim through them again before he gave them to the boy.

It was no more than an hour later that Naruto showed Kabuto his sketches. There were notes all over the margins, showing how pieces would slot together, and showing different angles of the puppets, which Kabuto had forgotten to tell Naruto to do. _He's really benefitting from Sasori's IQ, despite how young he is._

"Very good," Kabuto said, and Naruto beamed at the praise. "Now, I want you to apply seals to these. Take into account how large the seals would be, how visible, what they would be crafted of, their purposes, etc. Try to include some that are not primarily battle-oriented. In addition, I want you to outfit the puppets with weapons. That should require you to make a decision as to what type of fighter the particular puppet would specialize in being used by and against. If possible, plan how do alter these three designs so that they look essentially the same on the outside as you've planned them already, but have a very different function."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, frowning. "That'll take a while to plan."

"Take all the time you need." Kabuto settled down with his books once more, giving the impression that the discussion was over and that Naruto was to get started.

* * *

><p>The next time Kushina saw Naruto, he was full of questions and proposals. From what Naruto was telling her about these puppets Kabuto had him designing, Kushina's job at this point seemed to be to answer Naruto's questions and show him how to design seals to achieve the effects he was talking about.<p>

Kushina refused to do the work for him, though. Instead, she continued teaching him the steps, techniques, and components he would need to come up with the solutions on his own. By doing this and by asking just the right questions, Kushina succeeded in getting Naruto to design entire sets of seals, including ones that had nothing to do with the purposes he seemed to have had in mind in the first place.

Kushina noticed that, while Naruto wrote down every one of his ideas, often in shorthand, so they were incomprehensible to any but him, Naruto never completed a single original design. Not once did she see the boy draw out a final version of any of the seals he was designing. When asked about it, Naruto waved the question away, explaining that he was much more concerned about the ideas themselves than the physical designs, which, he claimed, wouldn't take long to draw up anyway.

Kushina couldn't help but agree with him on that point. From the moment Kushina had told Naruto that it was possible to refine seal designs so that less strokes were required, making them faster and easier to draw, Naruto had begun applying this principle to nearly all of his designs, testing just how much he could modify and simplify standard designs of basic seals before their effects began to vary. All in all, Naruto was beginning to think of seals in terms of how efficient he could make them, a principle that seemed odd considering how seemingly useless some of his seals were.

The entire time, Kushina was sneaking looks at Naruto as he worked. He didn't seem any different than he had been before, and yet she could not forget Kabuto's words. Surely Orochimaru wanted more with Naruto than just benefit from his sealing skills. _The sooner I get the two of us out of here, the better._

Though Kushina was fast falling into the loose routine of writing letters to the Hokage, always with their content dictated to her by Kabuto or one of the old Snake's other lackeys, she did not hold out hope that she could, through these missives, expect help from Konoha. The letters were always very carefully read over, and if even one phrase fell wrongly on Kabuto's ears, the entire thing would have to be re-written.

How Kushina hated servitude.

* * *

><p>Kabuto, intending to follow Orochimaru's instructions regarding Naruto's physical training, was temporarily taken aback when Naruto approached him with an idea in that vein before Kabuto had so much as broached the subject.<p>

"Y'see, I have this seal I want to try out. I think it would really help both my physical and sealing training. So, what d'you say?" Naruto smiled nervously.

Kabuto frowned a little. A forbidding sight. "What exactly is the intended effect of this seal you are proposing?"

"It's a weight seal, like the training seals they mentioned in one of the books you gave me, but much less clunky and more easily adjustable."

Now Kabuto looked slightly bemused. He was already aware that when he gave Naruto passages to read, more often than not the younger boy ended up reading the entire book or section, but this… "You remember a passing mention of training weights in one of the books I gave you? After you read it only once?"

"Well, yes." Naruto shifted from foot to foot. "So, what do you think?"

"By all means, if you have designed a seal that acts similarly to these training weights, who am I to stop you? Though I do have one suggestion and a rule."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. My suggestion is that you test this seal first on another object, and then by writing it on your skin in ink before you go ahead and inscribe it permanently. Make sure you can draw it competently with both hands, or ask me if you need help." _I suppose Kushina would be better at this, but I cannot risk her trying to turn this to her advantage._

"And what's the rule you mentioned?" Naruto asked, some apprehension still clear on his face. Kabuto made a mental note to give Naruto a book on body language, and another on masking one's emotions.

"The rule is that only I shall be allowed to set the weights of these seals. I am something of a medical specialist, and I don't want you to accidentally overtax your muscles. That could prove far more damaging than beneficial." _Even though the Kyuubi will probably make this procedure much faster and effective than it would be on the average shinobi._

"I understand." Naruto scampered off to begin his designs.

* * *

><p>Orochimaru laid down the report with a sigh. Really, he would have to remind Kabuto that not every note the silver-haired boy made during these procedures was necessary for Orochimaru to personally view. The boy had written positive <em>reams.<em> And while the scientist side of Orochimaru approved, and even encouraged, the thorough reports, he was still slightly resentful that such detail showed that he was expected to personally read every word.

He was not pleased at what Kabuto had to tell him, anyway. From what he could gather from Kabuto's highly verbose report, Samehada's abilities had not spread completely to all parts of his new skin. He was hesitant to order that the boy be injected once more with the same strain, unless the double dose proved to difficult for the Kyuubi to counterbalance. Orochimaru caught himself sincerely hoping that the scales did not choose to permanently manifest once the Kyuubi was extracted. _So much for the perfect host. The best that could happen is that the scale coverage could extend during the next year and a half to cover the boy's body entirely._

Orochimaru stood, surveying where he had pinned up his designs for the project he had been dubbing 'The Cursed Seal.' It was something as a joke, as he had come up with the name in a fit of frustration when the project had seemed to be going badly some weeks ago. However, his lab assistants had immediately adopted the name, believing it alluded to the fact that almost every test subject to whom the seal had been applied thus far had died, and the Snake sannin had not bothered to correct this conception.

Thankfully, the project was going much more smoothly now, and a new batch of test subjects was expected within a few days. Once they were briefed and primed, the seal could once again be tested. Orochimaru idly wondered how he could apply it this time. Branding, in his opinion, was far too messy a process, and had, anyway, yielded poor results. Perhaps a method more in keeping with his innate, snake-like tendencies was in order…

How Orochimaru wished he could pick Kushina's brains on the subject. In fact, once or twice, he had even attempted to do just that, but was rewarded only with insolence and aspersions cast on his sexual orientation. As if he had the time to spare for such thoughts…

Frustration overcame the Snake sannin once more. He wished that, when he had asked Kabuto about the possibility of giving the boy the Kaguya's DNA, Kabuto had returned a different answer. Such a waste to let such a useful talent slip through his fingers. His only consolation was that the Kaguya boy remained completely loyal to him. Even if the boy were to make a miraculous recovery after Orochimaru had already assumed control of Naruto's body, there was no way that Kimimaro's talents would fall into the hands of those pompous fools back in Konoha.

Turning his back on the plans for his Cursed Seal, Orochimaru retrieved Kabuto's predictions once more, perusing them as he had done so often already. _Kabuto claims that neither the boy nor his mother yet has any idea of the experiments. However, I have so far given the boy only the samples the effects of which are most easily hidden. Based on these predictions, it will be much more difficult to keep up the charade from here on out._ And so Orochimaru reached a decision.

_I shall wait to give the boy another sample. Instead of spacing them out evenly over two years as I had intended, I will instruct Kabuto to implement a more strict training regime for the next few months, after which I will have the boy receive the last few samples within the same four or five month period. _

Orochimaru cast his eyes over the predictions. _And when it _does_ come time for his next infusion, I think _this_ one is the only logical choice._

* * *

><p>AN: And that's a wrap. So, quite a bit of filler, so there will most likely be a short time skip of a few months between the events of this chapter and those of the next. And without further ado...

Chapter Summary:

1) Orochimaru asks Kabuto whether or not giving Naruto Kimimaro and/or Jugo's DNA is advisable, and Kabuto cautions against it. Instead, Kabuto gives Naruto an infusion of Samehada's DNA.

2) The spread of the scales' coverage was incomplete, however, as were Kabuto's tests, though he does not know it yet... in any case, Kabuto's going to have to work hard to conceal the changes from Naruto over the next few months.

3) Kabuto begins having Kushina write to the Hokage, not exactly regularly, but often enough to keep the old man happy.

4) Naruto realizes that parts of his memories are being pirated, and yet he's less worried about it than he ought to be. Instead, Kabuto distracts him by making him design puppets. *coughforeshadowing*

5) Kushina continues to teach Naruto while she plans their escape.

6) Kabuto meant to start really pushing Naruto's physical training like Orochimaru-sama _told_ him to, but Naruto beats him to the punch. Naruto's finally going to have to complete one of his seal designs for the weight-seals, and from there, who knows? What will Orochimaru think of this?

7) Orochimaru decides to change his plans a little, regarding the schedule based on which Naruto was to receive his infusions. This seems to be happening quite a bit. Maybe he should have started with a better plan...

Well, that's all for now, folks. As usual, please leave a review on the way out, pleaseandthankyou. Pax.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter VI

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, this challenge belongs to dracohalo117, and whatever is left belongs to me.

* * *

><p>Naruto sat up straight, the wall behind him supporting his back. Kabuto sat perpendicular to Naruto, slightly to one side of the boy, his eyes flickering from Naruto's still form to the larger form at the other end of the room. This was Naruto's new challenge, and Kabuto was determined to see the younger boy through it.<p>

The puppet twitched as Kabuto watched. He flicked his eyes back to Naruto whose face was entirely blank, no hint of exertion or emotion to be seen. Slowly, The puppet went through a series of Taijutsu stances. Then again, slightly faster. And again. Each time the routine was repeated, Naruto picked up the pace a little until the wooden construct was a whirling picture of formidable opposition.

And still Naruto betrayed no emotion, no movement, not even the tiniest flick of his fingers.

Kabuto smirked, withdrawing a kunai and approaching, remembering as he did so the instructions that he had given Naruto several weeks ago when they had begun these exercises.

* * *

><p>"Now, Naruto, you remember, I hope, what we have discussed about energy?"<p>

"What about it?" Naruto asked absently, hunched over in his chair and minutely examining the tiny puppet he was marking up, figuring the best places to put seals.

"How energy in a human's body can be converted to kinetic energy or chakra?" Kabuto prompted.

"Mm. What about heat and sound? Those are forms of energy, too."

"Yes, that is true. However, for purposes of this discussion, I think I can say that it is safe to disregard them."

"I thought it was never safe to disregard information, despite how seemingly trivial. After all, heat and sound are very obvious forms of energy that can blow your cover if you're not careful."

"I concede. Those are excellent points." Kabuto admitted, voice devoid of the biting resentment he felt at having his own lectures quoted back to him.

"I learned from the best." Naruto finally set down the doll-sized puppet and turned to properly face the older boy. "So, what about energy did you want to say?"

"Just a word on your puppet manipulation. Now, you know that in a real battle situation a puppet is a long-range weapon meant to keep your enemy away from your body while you control the puppet, yes?"

"Yeah, I know."

"However, it doesn't always work that way, particularly if you are fighting multiple opponents with one puppet. In that case, it is often hard to engage in a close-range fight and maintain puppet manipulation simultaneously. Which is why you have to work on conserving your energy."

Naruto heaved an unhappy sigh. "I thought you said I was good on conserving chakra."

"Correction, I said your chakra control was adequate for the time being." The truth was, Naruto's chakra control, augmented by that in Sasori's genes, was slightly above-average for one his age, quite a feat for someone with Naruto's capacity.

"Well, then?"

"I want you to work on preserving not just your chakra, but also your body's other energy."

"Any particular way you want me to go about doing that?"

Kabuto pushed up his glasses, hiding his eye roll. Really, Naruto could be kind of a brat. He was getting training like most academy students could only dream of. It wasn't like he knew that it came with a price higher than almost any would be willing to pay. "Yes, in fact. I want you to take control of one of the larger puppets you've made and make it move without moving your body. At all. You must control and move it only by manipulating it with chakra strings. This way, you will only use exactly as much chakra as is needed and will expend no extra energy."

Naruto frowned. "That sounds counter-productive."

"In what way does that sound at all counter-productive?" Kabuto asked, keeping his annoyance from bleeding into his voice.

"I'd be learning to not move while moving the puppet. I thought it was better to be mobile than to be a sitting duck."

"One step at a time, Naruto. This will teach you to use energy efficiently, have better control over your puppet, and allow you to eventually focus on moving your body separately of how you manipulate your puppet."

"Oh, okay then."

* * *

><p>It was now several months removed from when Naruto had received the previous DNA sample, and since then Kabuto had been focusing on Naruto's physical training, exposing him to a wide variety of taijutsu styles and battle scenarios. Always he stressed how Naruto, not yet even a qualified genin, would be at a disadvantage in almost any fight he would be drawn into and had to plan for every eventuality.<p>

In the meantime, Naruto was up to the third setting of his weight-seals, although Kabuto had him turn off the effects of the seals a few times a week so that his fighting styles did not develop a dependency on them. In addition, Kabuto had cautioned Naruto once more against raising the settings too soon, lest he overtax himself. Naruto had considered these concerns to be unnecessary, as he himself knew just how fast his body healed from even major injuries.

For lack of anything better to start on, Kabuto had begun teaching Naruto a few minor genjutsu. These did not grab Naruto's imagination nearly as thoroughly as fuinjutsu had, but he was still sufficiently fascinated to ask Kushina and Kabuto question after question, ranging from the dispelling of genjutsu to the creation and maintenance of a three-dimensional illusion scenario. He was curious whether one could dispel a genjutsu without alerting the caster to the fact that one had done so and whether one could set up a permanent genjutsu, affecting someone's perception of a certain object or person, for example.

Naruto was still receiving instruction from Kushina on seals, and though he usually stuck to that topic when in her presence, the two did not restrict their conversations, discussing techniques and new ideas in a variety of areas.

As Naruto had not received a new DNA infusion for quite some time, Kabuto had begun giving Naruto sugar pills periodically for the sake of appearances. The boy had been pleased to report that he wasn't forgetting things after each dose, as he had been before. Kabuto wondered how Naruto would feel about the new holes in his memory when Kabuto was invariably instructed to continue the ongoing experiment. Oh well, he would just have to cross those bridges when he came to them.

* * *

><p>Kushina quickly schooled her expression as he cell door opened. "If it isn't my favorite little tyrant," she snarked. "I was missing the dulcet tones of your bitchass whining. What's up?"<p>

Kabuto raised an eyebrow. "For once, this visit might be considered by some, in the very loosest sense of the words of course, a social call."

"Only if those some are blind, deaf, and comatose, Kabuto," Kushina said in an annoyingly knowing voice, "As you are not being the least bit social at all."

Kabuto pouted mockingly, "Ah, don't you like me at all, Kushina-sama?"

Kushina stared at Kabuto hard for a second, and then slowly shook her head. "Wow, you sounded uncannily like a certain snake-in-the-grass right there." She said grimly. "You're young, you've got your life ahead of you. Don't fuck up your chances by letting that creep rub off on you."

Kabuto sighed. "As usual, I require neither your sympathy nor your guidance, and yet you give it so freely. Are you actually so concerned for my wellbeing?"

"Believe it or not, Kabuto, yes, I am."

Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "Excuse me?"

"You see, Kabuto, I once had a son. Oh, he was much younger than you are, but I had to watch as he was taken away to endure a fate that I knew would be little better than torture. I _knew_ what was in store for him. I had experienced the same thing. And yet I let it be done to him, to _my own child. _I know lives were saved because of it, but that almost makes it worse, because it gives the action justification and means that I didn't try to search for an alternative."

"What does this have to do with your inexplicably wishing me not to come to harm?"

"I just don't want you to throw away what you have for the sake of what you think the 'easy thing' is."

"In my experience, taking the morally correct path tends to lead to less rewards than does the path of instant gratification."

"Really? That surprises me. I would have thought you were one of those 'wait until the right moment and then do what is needed' guys."

"You're not far off. I'm more like one of those 'wait until the opportunity presents itself and then take it' guys."

"So you're not backing down?"

"Not unless you do the same."

Kushina snorted. "You impress me less every time we speak."

"Interesting how you can say that without really knowing anything about me. Didn't you spend your entire life dealing with those imbeciles who judged and spoke before deigning to gather information?"

"It's not the same."

"Isn't it?" Kabuto stared at her. It was the closest she had ever seen the silver-haired teen come to a glare. "At least Naruto is happier here than he was in Konoha. At least there are people here looking out for him."

Kushina flinched and her cuffs clinked in the brief silence. "If I know the Big Man, Naruto won't be happy forever as long as he's here."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

Kabuto pushed his glasses up viciously, so that the light glared off of the lenses momentarily. "Maybe you're right. But it certainly won't make you feel better if he isn't." He stood up. "I'll leave you to your compositions."

* * *

><p>Kabuto frowned. "Your form is sloppy."<p>

"No it's not," Naruto said tightly. He stepped forward and threw a punch, then another. Kabuto dodged, and when Naruto's next punch went wide, Kabuto worked his way into Naruto's guard and knocked him down on his ass. He placed a foot on Naruto's chest, staring him down.

"Your _form_ is _sloppy,_ Naruto. You're not focusing. What's going on?"

Naruto didn't reply, didn't even struggle, just avoided Kabuto's eyes and braced his hands against the floor, levering himself up into a sitting position. After a minute, he mumbled under his breath.

"Excuse me?"

"I asked how long it's been since I got here."

"You mean since you arrived at this facility?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "_No,_ I meant since I was born, Kabuto. Of course since I arrived at the facility."

"A little under two years. Why?"

"When do I get to go home?" Kabuto hesitated. Naruto had hardly ever shown signs of wanting to return to Konoha. Kabuto had been led to believe that the boy's life there had, sad to say, been a many times more miserable affair than the one he was experiencing as an experiment.

"Do you want to go home?"

Naruto looked up, alarm in his eyes. "Of course I do! How will I be Hokage if I don't take my genin exam in Konoha?"

"Is that the only reason you want to return?"

Naruto didn't respond. Kabuto eventually sat down, watching Naruto watch the floor. "Why do you want to be Hokage, anyway?" he asked softly.

"Why did you become a shinobi?" Naruto shot back.

"Well…" Kabuto adjusted his glasses. He had never really talked like this before, talked about himself. "I was found on a battle field when I was very young. Right after the Battle of Kikyo Pass. You may not have heard of it. It took place near the end of the Third Great Shinobi War. In any case, I was found by the captain of the Konoha Medic Corps. He adopted me, but I think he had his misgivings about taking me in. For the longest time I barely spoke. Even when I had settled in, I didn't want to play with other children. I didn't even cry. The other medics said that it was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but I knew it wasn't; I couldn't even remember what happened on the day they found me- I was too young. I just didn't see things the way the civilian children did. Everything was a potential danger that had to be accounted for and carefully worked around or counteracted."

"And that led you to become a shinobi?" Naruto asked, frowning until his brow creased.

"I was always studying people, Naruto. Other children, adults, authority figures, people no one respected, everyone. I classified them, sorted them, and when the time came that I was asked which group I wanted to belong to, I decided to look up to the shinobi. Silent, efficient, respected, feared. I did make one concession, however. I was well aware of my own abilities, my gifts, my curses. I decided to become a medic shinobi, which not only put my father's mind at rest, but seemed the right path for me. I don't regret it."

"Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you had chosen differently?"

"No."

A beat.

"Are you having second thoughts on becoming a shinobi, Naruto?" Kabuto asked.

"No, I'm seeing this through, even if it takes another two years for me to become a genin."

Kabuto gave a half-smile. "Titles mean practically nothing, Naruto. If you were a jonin-level shinobi with nothing but a genin headband to your name, would you be overpowered by a chunin just because he had a vest and you didn't?"

"No, I guess not." Naruto stood up and offered Kabuto a hand. "It's still nice to have that recognition, though."

"True." Kabuto used Naruto's hand to help himself up. He looked down at the younger boy. Naruto was still obviously preoccupied. A tiny spark of regret bloomed somewhere inside of Kabuto. "Do you want to learn a new jutsu?" he asked abruptly.

Naruto's head jerked up. "Seriously?"

"Oh, why not?"

* * *

><p>Orochimaru looked on from the adjoining observation room. Kabuto had begun teaching the boy to Shunshin. Orochimaru was slightly wary of teaching the boy a jutsu that could potentially lead to his escaping, but after what he had said about seeing the program through, Orochimaru wasn't unduly worried. It wasn't as if he could tell Kabuto off, as the silver-haired boy had requested a list of approved jutsu to teach to Naruto and Orochimaru had gotten one of his lab assistants to do it. Orochimaru had long since mastered the art of delegating. He had given the list a cursory glance before passing it on and he was pretty sure that Shunshin had been on it.<p>

Orochimaru returned to his office, settling himself at his desk as usual and pushing away a stack of papers that was gradually breeding on the polished surface. He carefully set aside a glass jar, not sparing the hand and ring inside a second glance. He had work to do.

In a little under six months, his current skin could be shed. Which meant stepping up the infusion process on behalf of the new one. Orochimaru ran through the checklist in his head, _the Paper Witch, the Puppet Master, the Leech. _He considered his options. He knew he had limited time in which to distribute the remaining six samples, and some of them were better given sooner than later. He just hoped that some samples, like Hidan's or Itachi's- or even Pein's- would give the boy exactly the same powers as those possessed by the 'donors'.

Another thing to take into account was the fact that some of the infusions would be regrettably obvious to the boy. Despite what he told his erstwhile lackey, Orochimaru actually did care whether or not the boy was aware of the process. The child of Kushina would most likely object if he discovered at the wrong time what was being done to him. And the last thing that Orochimaru needed was for his precious test subject to take his own life and thereby prevent his skin being dedicated to a higher purpose.

Glancing one last time over the list of remaining infusions, Orochimaru reached a decision.

* * *

><p>Kabuto was profoundly glad that Naruto's room was sealed against his using jutsu inside. Now that Naruto could Shunshin, it was much more difficult to keep up with him in spars, particularly when he would intersperse his Shunshin with Kawirimi. Kabuto would turn, searching for Naruto after he had disappeared and then have to hastily dodge a falling log. He hadn't been hit by one yet, but it was only a matter of time, and when that time came, Naruto would never let him live it down.<p>

Recently, Naruto had begun getting bored being cooped up in his room, sometimes for hours at a time. He had resorted to asking Kabuto if he could wander around the labs when Kabuto was elsewhere. Kabuto refused, instead offering to let Naruto watch an autopsy.

Naruto warily accepted, reassured when Kabuto told him that he did not have to stay if he couldn't handle it. To which Naruto responded that any shinobi worth anything should not be squeamish at the sight of blood. Kabuto left it at that, choosing not to respond.

Naruto stared at the body reposing on the brushed steel table. It was tastefully covered by a sheet, but Kabuto could tell that Naruto was taking in the dimensions and approximate build and making an age estimate. He nodded in approval, moving to pull the sheet back just far enough to show the woman's face.

He heard Naruto give a sharp intake of breath and turned to see him. He was pale, although, to give him credit, he was approaching the table rather than backing away.

"How-" he stopped. Cleared his throat. "Who is she?"

Kabuto shrugged. "Unknown. Her body was discovered yesterday. Autopsy is standard in determining whether it was homicide or not."

Naruto looked confused and more than a little disturbed. "You mean she wasn't killed by a shinobi or samurai?"

Kabuto glanced down, surprised. "Naruto, civilians kill each other all the time. Just because they don't have training or authorization in certain cases like shinobi or samurai doesn't mean they can't be brutal."

"Trust me, I know that." Naruto swallowed once more. "Just… why? Why did she die?"

"No idea. I'm just here for the how. For all we know, it was natural causes. Or at least, probably not, because thirty-five to forty-five year-old women like her don't usually drop dead for no reason, but until we take a look, it could be anything."

Naruto nodded slowly, numbly. Kabuto took it as a sign that he was going to be alright. He went over to one of the sinks set against the wall to wash his hands before pulling on a pair of gloves. He extracted a pair of face masks from a box, turning to offer one to Naruto.

Naruto did not hold out a hand to take it. He was scrutinizing Kabuto as intently as he had just been staring at the body. Kabuto lowered his hand. "What is it?" He asked. He was getting sick of asking that of late. He was not accustomed to caring for the wellbeing of those around him. If one of Orochimaru-sama's lab rats was whining about his job that day, it was put up or shut up. Kabuto was not expected to tolerate it and he most certainly did not appreciate it when there was work to be done. Research was a tough job to get into, particularly for civilians, and those who worked under Orochimaru-sama were easily and often replaced.

Naruto just frowned in response. It almost looked fierce, for a twelve-year-old. "Just thinking," he said slowly. "Is this what you do when I'm not around you?"

"Sometimes, yes, but less than you would expect," Kabuto conceded. It was mostly true- in fact most of the bodies he examined were nothing like this one. He generally dealt with the corpses of Orochimaru-sama's failed experiments, not those of nameless homicide victims from Otogakure.

Naruto nodded slowly, thinking it over. Kabuto pushed up his glasses, rolling his eyes. "Do you not want to watch, Naruto?"

"No, it's okay. I'll stay."

Kabuto resisted the urge to roll his eyes once more and perhaps remark in a condescending tone _Good boy._

"Alright, let's get started then. Keep in mind, I will be grilling you on everything that you've learned."

"As expected." Kabuto cast him a glance. Was that a shot? Maybe Naruto would do better than he thought with this…

* * *

><p>Naruto wandered the library, idly running his finger along the spines at eye level, but really reading the titles from the shelf below. Kabuto was a couple of rows over, apparently looking for volumes of old notes made by distinguished researchers whose names Naruto didn't bother to remember. Naruto paused at a couple of books, twisting his head to read the titles. After a moment, he poked his head out of the end of the row he was in, checking right and left, then he went back. After pulling out one of the books he had been looking at, he went to find Kabuto.<p>

The books and scrolls here did not seem to be organized in any conventional way, but rather in the sorts of grouping that might have been designed for the sake of easy convenience to be navigable by only the one who knew what and where every book was already. Naruto found Kabuto at last, crouched before a shelf with a couple of smaller scrolls and one or two more substantial tomes stacked before him. He was leaning over a book open to near the end, probably browsing the index, Naruto thought.

"Hey Kabuto?" Naruto asked.

"Hm?" Kabuto looked up. "Yes, Naruto?"

"So I was researching blood rituals…"

"Really? Are you still hung up on the autopsy?"

Naruto made a face. "I was kidding. Anyway, I found this book and wondered if you could tell me about it before I read it."

"To lazy to read the preface?"

"Kabuto, you are literally the only person I have ever met who reads the preface to every book. Therefore, you should understand when I say that authors never right anything important in the preface."

"That is not true."

"Nothing _interesting,_ at least."

"Well…"

"Kabuto, don't you dare come up with a counter-example on the spot. Just tell me what this book is about."

Kabuto held out a hand and took the book, flipping it over the check the front cover. "Hm. Jashinism? That's pretty grim reading. Are you sure?"

"It sounds pretty interesting to me," Naruto said defensively.

"Alright, if you're sure. This particular book is one written by a Jashinist, actually, so it will be full of recounts of gory bloodbaths and religious ranting and heretical-sounding declarations of faith. If you're going to read it, I'd suggest reading an outsider's point of view first to brace yourself and get a clearer picture of all of the rituals and images he refers to. Jashinists are immortal, you see, so while the author of _this_ book is technically still alive, you may need a syllabus for some of the more arcane or outdated references."

"Okay, thanks." Naruto made to head back, but turned when he caught something. "What? Did you say something?"

"No problem."

"Oh. Okay."

* * *

><p>That night when Kabuto entered the observation room adjoining Naruto's, it was to come face-to-face with his employer. "Shall we?" Orochimaru said sweetly, gesturing for Kabuto to precede him out of the room. Kabuto complied and the two were soon ensconced in a lab, looking at each other over Naruto's supine body.<p>

_This is romantic,_ Kabuto thought sarcastically. _Why must he always spring these little sessions on me? Would stripping away his little air of enigma for five seconds really kill him or does his wellbeing actually depend on being such a prima donna? _And then, _It's a damn good thing he can't read minds._

"Which one will it be this time, Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked, the very picture of subservient obedience. "I'd like to state for the record that Naruto has begun researching Jashinism with no prompting whatsoever from me."

"Interesting," Orochimaru said. "And more than likely beneficial. However, It is not the Jashinist's blood that I wish to give to the boy today." Orochimaru withdrew a vial from his pocket, fussily checking the seal and smoothing and rereading the label before handing it over.

Kabuto took the vial, giving it only the cursory glance that it took to recognize the contents. By this time, Kabuto had studied every sample to the point where more than this was not necessary. "Kakuzu," was all he said.

"Correct." Orochimaru paused. After a minute of so, Kabuto glanced up at him.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?"

"I am waiting for you to make your usual objections or to attempt to dissuade me from taking this course of action.

Kabuto stared blankly for a moment. Then his eyes widened slightly as he understood. "No! No, Orochimaru-sama, I would never presume to question your judgment."

"And yet you have done so with alarming frequency ever since I put you on this project," Orochimaru murmured. "Don't apologize, Kabuto. I value your input in general, I was simply taken aback that you have nothing to offer on this occasion."

Kabuto simmered. Nothing to _offer?_ If Orochimaru-sama thought that was the case he could very well pull Kabuto from this ridiculous babysitting job. Kabuto would get to stop using his medical jutsu to prevent carpal tunnel from all of the notes he was taking and could get down to some real work. He shook himself a little. _Listen to him. It wouldn't do for him to suspect you of having less-than-loyal thoughts._

Orochimaru was still speaking. "Well, if you have no questions or reservations, I can't pretend it doesn't make a nice change." _You can at least _pretend, Kabuto thought bitterly. "I'll leave you to get on with it," Orochimaru said with a smile. He left. Kabuto resisted the urge to break something, not knowing if he was being monitored or not.

* * *

><p>By this point it was a matter of routine to get Naruto's unconscious form situated and primed. Kabuto injected the boy with the infusion. He sat down. He waited for something to happen.<p>

After half an hour or so, Kabuto could sense, like a petrel before the storm, the incoming boredom this day would bring were he not equipped to combat it. To that end, he retrieved a stack of file folders and scrolls, all containing information on Kakuzu of Takigakure. He skimmed the paragraphs. They ranged from accounts of those who had witnessed Kakuzu in action to those who had known him before he went rogue. Mostly these were official reports, however, which was another way of saying that they were virtually devoid of useful information.

It was only when he reached the bit that Orochimaru-sama himself had written during his brief stint as a member of Akatsuki that Kabuto felt an inexplicable sinking feeling. He glanced up at Naruto, who had been twitching for the last fifteen minutes or so, occasional spasms causing him to strain against the restraints. Nothing out of the ordinary. So why did Kabuto get the feeling that he might have just thrown a wrench into the proceedings with this particular infusion?

_Calm down. You always feel like this. A human body is not designed to take all of the strain you put on his. He has borne up well under the pressure so far, why should this be different? Stay calm. Analyze. _Out of habit, Kabuto grabbed a copy of his original predictions. Glancing from them to Naruto, he opened the folder.

He did not even have to flick to the section he wanted before he remembered. _Damn and blast it._ He thought. _Orochimaru-sama may legitimately kill me this time. Kill me and feed me to some sort of hideous fledgling monster._ Shakily, Kabuto ran a hand through his hair before automatically pushing up his glasses.

He washed and dried his hands, pulling on gloves and a face mask. He was moving in a strange hyperaware trance. He kept trying to think about what to do, but nothing was occurring to him. His mind was just a whirling, whining space full of _think, think, think. _

He was standing over Naruto, the greenish haze already visible around his hand before he realized that he would not be able to use the chakra scalpels, after all. Naruto's scales would prevent all contact. So Kabuto reached for a blade of steel instead, his anxiety increasing rapidly. It had been a long time since he had actually used a mundane scalpel. It wasn't too different from his chakra scalpels, but there was less control of the blade and right now even that felt really unsettling.

Kabuto carefully cut into Naruto's flesh, making a y-cut from collar bones to sternum and from sternum to diaphragm as he had when he had been dissecting that woman down in the autopsy lab. Kabuto suppressed a shudder. Not that he was adverse to vivisection necessarily, it was essentially akin to surgery, after all, it was just so strange because of how well he knew Naruto by now.

Kabuto set down the scalpel, pulling back one of the flaps he had created, immediately worried when no blood was forthcoming. _No blood._ Kabuto hissed at the sight that met him. Under Naruto's skin bunched a network of thick, coarse threads. There were no nerves or veins. No muscles. Naruto's skeleton was virtually unchanged and, after a little poking around, Kabuto found a full set of internal organs, but the fact remained that Naruto's mobility and livelihood was now entirely run on chakra. As Naruto twitched, Kabuto watched certain bundles of the threads bunch and stretch like muscles. He noticed that other threads, perhaps taking the places of veins, were firmly rooted into Naruto's organs, particularly his heart, which still beat, although with what, Kabuto did not know.

_No blood._ Kabuto fitted the flaps back together, not even bothering to thread a needle for stitches, knowing that the cuts would be healed presently. He collapsed into a chair, stripping off the gloves and mask and tossing them into the sink. _How on earth will he be able to use Hidan's abilities when the time comes if he has no blood with which to draw the ritual circle?_

Kabuto put his hands to his face, pushing his glasses up onto his head in order to rub his eyes. _Surely I cannot be blamed for this? The results of these experiments have always been unpredictable. Perhaps this will not be too bad. I just have to make sure not to present this in a bad light. Perhaps the combination of this ability and Hidan's will be more favorable than it seems now._

Kabuto sat for a while, calming down. Finally, his frayed attention span turned wearily to the new abilities themselves. _I wonder if Naruto can do what Kakuzu can do. Can he absorb hearts? I cannot try it though, what if he notices that he has two heartbeats? The results would be quite distressing. _

Kabuto stood and began to pace. _When we spar in the future, not only must I be sure that I do not perform jutsu on him, I must also be sure not to cut his skin. If his chakra reserves weren't so grotesquely enormous and had he not the Kyuubi in him, he might not have had enough chakra to sustain himself at this point. However, as things stand, simply moving around will most likely work as an exercise to increase his reserves even further. Perhaps this, in addition to Kakuzu's immortality technique will be enough to placate Orochimaru-sama. Seriously, this whole Kakuzu's-power-impeding-Hidan's smacks of something that would actually be orchestrated by those two. Not that I think they planned this or even were aware of this little experiment. I'm not that paranoid._

On the table, Naruto thrashed, the wounds nearly healed but his sleeping mind a whirl of disturbing images.

* * *

><p>Naruto felt an unpleasant tugging sensation in his chest. He raised his head. He was lying on an operating table. Kabuto was standing over him, that deadly green haze surrounding his hand. There was blood splattered across it as Kabuto raised it out of the way. Naruto looked down at his own chest. He tried to scream, but he had no lungs. There were snakes, long and sinuous sliding out of the hole Kabuto had cut in him. He looked up at the older boy, planning to ask why he would do it, but he couldn't breathe, couldn't make a sound.<p>

Then he saw the threads, connecting to Kabuto's hands and head, forcing the scalpel down toward Naruto while Kabuto's lifeless glass eyes stared eerily. Naruto craned his head, trying to see who was pulling the strings, but the man was in Kabuto's shadow. Naruto felt something sharp prick his cheek. He turned his head and met a pair of slit-pupiled orange eyes and the madman's scribble of a snarl.

The dream popped like a soap bubble and Naruto sat up, shaking and panting. For a minute he could still remember the dream, but when he did not rush to write down the details, they faded and he was left cold and disturbed but none the wiser.

He smoothed his hands down his chest momentarily, puzzled by the lingering feelings of constriction. He was back in his bedroom, the mirrored glass on one side and the desk bearing his notes on the other.

When Kabuto eventually came in, he found Naruto slumped at his desk, idly doodling battle-puppets bristling with fanciful weapons and sporting the faces of people he knew.

* * *

><p>"Hm," was all Orochimaru said.<p>

Kabuto knelt before him, the back of his neck prickling with sweat and a finger rammed across his nose to hold up his glasses.

"No blood, you say? And his organs are being run entirely on chakra?"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

"And you find this a concern because you do not think that I will not have blood to spill for the sake of a Jashinist ritual?"

Kabuto hesitated. "Yes, Orochimaru-sama," he said finally.

"Even though one's body changes to reflect one's opponent's body when in the Cursed State?"

Kabuto frowned for a moment. "I… I did not know that, Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "This hardly seems to be a cause for concern, Kabuto. One way or another I will be immortal, rest assured."

"I have no doubt, Orochimaru-sama."

"Then act like it. This is my plan and it will not fail," he snapped.

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama."

"Then, if you have no more objections, you are dismissed."

* * *

><p>"Kaa-sensei?" Naruto fiddled with the paper before him.<p>

Kushina smiled. "Yes, Naruto?"

"Where do you come from?"

Kushina gave Naruto a long look, frantically reviewing Kabuto's original instructions in her head. "It's a pretty boring story," she said slowly. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Naruto shook his head impatiently. "That's what adults say when they don't want to tell me something," he said. "I bet it's a good story."

"Well…"

"Will you tell it to me?"

Kushina glanced at the tinted window, impassive as ever. She thought quickly. As long as she did not mention Konoha or the Kyuubi, she would technically not be disobeying Kabuto's instructions. She took a careful breath. "If it's a story you want…" she muttered. "I was born in Uzushiogakure."

Naruto looked faintly puzzled. "Whirlpool? I've never even heard of it."

"You wouldn't have," Kushina said, each word rolling off her tongue and falling with a great heaviness into the stark quiet of the room. "It was destroyed some time before you were born."

* * *

><p>AN: And we are back! Alright, so I know it's been a while, a lot has happened since I last updated, etc., etc. In newer news, I have temporarily suspended work on my other Naruto fic in favor of taking up this one full time. To all those who stick it out and read this, thank you so much for your patience. So, without further ado, the summary!

1) Kabuto and Naruto's relationship becomes slightly strained as Kabuto begins to teach Naruto to move independently of any puppet he manipulates.

2) A quick summation of what Naruto has learned during this time-skip, including genjutsu, which may not end up being all that important, to be honest, but there you are.

3) Let me be clear that when Kabuto said "Composing" to Kushina, he meant the letters she was writing on behalf of Orochimaru to send to Sarutobi. He did not mean any seal she may have been working on in order to escape.

4) Naruto asks some questions about going home and receives advice on being a good shinobi and Kabuto's life story.

5) Orochimaru is plotting all things dastardly. Possibly heinous. Probably inhumane, for those of you with weak constitutions.

6) Just kidding, ignore the end of number five, this chapter will most likely be the most graphic for a long time, although you'll notice that I thoughfully omitted the actual autopsy.

7) Naruto starts researching Jashinism. That's pretty much it.

8) Kabuto gives Naruto Kakuzu's DNA and Naruto's veins, nerves, and muscles become threads while his organs remain the same.

9) Kabuto flips out a little over the lack of blood and Orochimaru tells him in essence to calm his tits.

10) Naruto has a bad dream. Nope. No foreshadowing at all. None. Whatsoever.

11) Naruto asks Kushina for _her_ life story, because apparently this is when everyone just spills their guts to him. Her story is the be continued in chapter seven.

Well, that about covers it, except that I'd really appreciate it if you left me a review before you ex out of here or move on. Thank you!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter VII

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, this challenge belongs to dracohalo117, and whatever is left belongs to me.

* * *

><p><em>Naruto looked faintly puzzled. "Whirlpool? I've never even heard of it."<em>

"_You wouldn't have," Kushina said, each word rolling off her tongue and falling with a great heaviness into the stark quiet of the room. "It was destroyed some time before you were born."_

"Your village was destroyed? I didn't know that could happen."

"That's because you grew up in a large village, rather than a small one. I mean, Uzushio was small, but it was pretty powerful and influential as small villages go," Kushina said.

"Who destroyed it?"

"Iwa and Kumo teamed up."

"Wow." Naruto stared at Kushina. "Do you resent them at all?"

"Not really. It was before the start of the Third Great Shinobi War, quite a long time ago. Don't get me wrong, I grieved for my village and hated the attackers, but I wouldn't hold a grudge with members of Iwa and Kumo who are blameless in that respect."

Naruto nodded. "I think I understand. Did you- I mean, what was it like in Uzushio?"

Kushina shrugged. "I don't remember much. My last few months there didn't exactly make for good memories. Neither did the several ensuing years as I settled into my new home."

"Why not? What happened?"

"I was picked on a lot by other kids, and I didn't do much to encourage friendships. I used to beat up the kids who picked on me."

"Why did they pick on you?" Kushina hesitated for the briefest moment.

"Mostly because of my red hair. I used to hate it and hate the people who made fun of me for it."

"You used to?"

Kushina sighed. "There was a boy-" she broke off. Naruto was grinning madly. "Stop that," Kushina said, her irritation slightly marred by the affection in her voice. "It wasn't like that."

"It sure _sounds_ like it was like that," Naruto said, still grinning.

"Only here's the thing, it wasn't," Kushina said. She took a deep breath. "The truth is, I didn't even like him at first. I though he was such a sissy that he would never make a good ninja. And on top of that, I felt like he was lying or copying me when he said that he wanted to grow up to be Kage."

"Why, was that your dream, too?"

"Yes."

"Did it work?" Kushina gazed at Naruto's rapt face.

"Not yet it hasn't, but it's only a matter of time."

"Alright, go on, what about this boy? What did he look like, anyway?" Kushina absently ran a hand through Naruto's hair, but he shook it off impatiently. "You're stalling," he whined.

"He looked a little like you, I guess. Blonde. Blue-eyed," Kushina said. The words were quiet, but she was proud that her voice did not shake. _After all this time… _"In any case, I was a genin when it happened, just barely graduated. I was kidnapped by shinobi from Kumo."

"Geez, you just couldn't catch a break. What did they want you for?"

"Something about my chakra, I think."

"How did you escape?"

"What makes you think I escaped? He, the boy I was telling you about, he followed me. He tracked me by the strands of my hair that had fallen while the shinobi carried me, and when the time came, he rescued me."

"I bet you didn't hate your hair so much then," Naruto said.

"I still would have done if he hadn't told me he thought it was beautiful."

Naruto let out a sigh of the sort one gives at the end of a good story. "And the two of you lived happily ever after?"

"For a few years, yes."

Naruto frowned. "What's that supposed to mean? Where is he, anyway?"

Kushina swallowed. "He's dead, Naruto," she said softly. "He was killed the day our son was born."

Naruto looked alarmed. What kind of a happy ending was that? "Where's your son?"

"That day- that day, he disappeared. I searched for months, but I never found him, never heard what became of him."

"So you stopped looking? Just gave up?" Naruto sounded like he was trying to hide his anger, but it wasn't working, spilling over and making his words shake slightly.

"Of course not. I have kept an ear out ever since, investigating anything that sounds like him. But my life moved on, and I bet his has, too. He grew up without me, and I doubt he'd want me in his life now."

"I doubt it," Naruto said quietly. "As one who grew up without parents, I can say that if your son is any sort of a reasonable guy, he wants to meet you as much as you do him."

Kushina met Naruto's eyes, and for a moment, it looked like his heart was breaking. She knew that she could look little better. Wordlessly, she pulled him into a hug.

"At least we found each other," Naruto said thickly.

* * *

><p>Kabuto stared through the window, disgusted. What was this? Kushina had been instructed to teach Naruto fuinjutsu, not let him waste time crying on her shoulder about how horrible their childhoods were. Kabuto wasn't even the least bit grateful that Kushina at least had the decency not to mention Minato's name, the Kyuubi, or Konoha. He knew she had lied a little when she spoke about always searching for her son. Kushina had been locked up in these labs since shortly after the Kyuubi attack.<p>

He wondered what it felt like to lie to your son, a boy, moreover, who had just confessed to missing you without realizing it.

* * *

><p>Kabuto was slightly unsettled when Orochimaru approached him next, talking as if it was time to administer another injection. It had been a scant two and a half weeks since the last one, and Kabuto pointed out that Naruto's body, while now entirely adjusted to the addition of Kakuzu's threads, could probably use a more significant rest.<p>

Orochimaru stared at him, eyes narrowed. "You just said that he had completely adjusted. You even told me that his chakra reserves are vast and growing daily to account for the amount he uses each day just to move and survive. What objection could you possibly have?"

Kabuto hesitated. "Which sample were you considering on this occasion?" he asked at last.

In response, Orochimaru held up a vial. Kabuto recognized it. It was the mixture he had been asked to make of the blonde hairs Orochimaru had gathered the day he had fled from the Akatsuki.

Because Orochimaru had not had the time to study the abilities of that boy when they had made their brief 'acquaintance', Kabuto had been forced to do more research on this sample than usual. It had taken him a while to find information on the jealously guarded Iwagakure kinjutsu that was responsible for the mouths on the boy's hands. The jutsu was said to allow the user to knead chakra into materials, raw, malleable materials being the most effective, like clay.

From the information Kabuto had found suggested that the boy must have been at least a former member of the Explosion Corps, meaning that he probably possessed the Bakuton Kekkei Genkai, a bloodline that allowed those who possessed it to cause objects they came into contact with to explode.

Although giving Naruto the DNA would most likely not give him the mouths on his hands without the special kinjutsu to go with it, Kabuto still had misgivings about handing Naruto, who was in essence a prisoner and an experiment to boot, the ability to make things explode. _Who am I kidding? He can do that with exploding tags anyway. This way is just faster and a little more dangerous._

While the research had not made Kabuto feel better about administering such a potentially destructive ability, it did give him an idea about how to train Naruto to use it without alerting him to the fact that Kabuto was performing horrible human genetic experiments on him. After all, Naruto didn't have to know that the kinjutsu was not responsible for allowing him to make explosions. Also, if Kabuto played his cards right, he would be able to kill two birds with one stone and teach Naruto about two of his abilities without raising suspicion.

Kabuto moved to administer the injection, hesitating a moment before injecting it into one of Naruto's tenketsu. Kabuto was no Hyuuga, but he was an accomplished medic already and could at least identify a few major tenketsu. He figured that without veins to inject, he could at least make sure that the liquid would be spread by the boy's chakra flow. The Kyuubi would have to deal with regulating it from there.

* * *

><p>"So what you're saying is that this new jutsu will give me mouths on the palms of my hands? That doesn't seem physically possible."<p>

Kabuto smiled patronizingly, knowing that it would annoy Naruto. "If you do not want to, I will understand, Naruto. I just thought you would like the little side effect of this jutsu allowing you to explode things…"

"So, about this jutsu, how does one go about performing it?"

Kabuto allowed himself a rare smirk, going through the hand signs with Naruto. Kabuto himself was not going to implement the jutsu. Orochimaru had not given him specific orders to this end, but he got the feeling that his employer would be less than pleased were he to possess Naruto only to find that Kabuto could use the same techniques as he could. It was a superiority complex thing, and Kabuto preferred not to screw around with it.

Naruto was successful, easily implementing the jutsu after only a few repetitions of the complex hand seals. He raised his hands, staring at the gaping slashes. "I thought you said that they would look more like mouths," he said.

Kabuto's smile fell. "Excuse me?" He took one of Naruto's hands and examined the opening. By all accounts, it should have resembled a mouth, with a full set of teeth and a tongue. Instead, it was more like a two-inch-long slit in the skin, which a bit of probing forced open, revealing a sort of muscular sac. It would probably work as these things normally did, kneading chakra into whatever material was placed inside, but Kabuto figured that either the Kyuubi's interference or the atypical nature of Naruto's physical makeup caused the jutsu to yield the unusual results. Better not to tell Naruto that.

Kabuto reluctantly released Naruto's hand, thinking quickly. "I exaggerated slightly when I described the effects as looking like 'mouths'," he said.

"Okay," Naruto said slowly, in a way that meant he probably wasn't more than half-listening. He was intent on opening and closing the slits on his palms without touching them. It seemed to get easier and easier the longer he practiced.

Kabuto rapped the table impatiently. "Pay attention, Naruto. The jutsu will allow you to knead your chakra into substances, shape the substances into whatever is the most effective form is for your purpose at the moment, and then make the materials explode. For now, practice with this." Kabuto passed Naruto a small amount of clay.

Naruto took it, the clay immediately disappearing into the slit across his right palm. Naruto's face took on a look of concentration. "So you're saying that the chakra-infusion should work automatically?" He extracted the clay a minute later. It looked the same, but when Naruto set a small amount on the floor and made the seal that Kabuto had shown him, it blew up, leaving nothing but the faint smell of burning and scorch marks on the floor. Naruto grinned. "This is so cool."

"Why don't you try to shape the clay inside of your hands while it is being infused with chakra?" Kabuto suggested.

For a while Naruto experimented, forming coils and cubes and pyramids. Each time, the different shapes caused different blast patterns, and sooner or later, Naruto began to talk about using explosions to launch or redirect projectiles, about how it would only take a few well-placed smaller explosions to bring down a wall that most would need a larger explosion to destroy.

Finally, Kabuto took out a stack of paper and scrolls. "The jutsu works on more than just clay, Naruto."

"Really?" Naruto asked, tearing his eyes away from the little model clay puppet he was playing with. He was testing if he could control it without chakra strings if the entire thing was infused with he chakra, anyway.

Kabuto pushed a sheet of paper toward Naruto. "Try this."

Naruto made a face. "Why do I need to use this to blow up paper? It would be far more efficient and precise to use an exploding seal. That way, I know for sure how large the explosions will be."

"I think you are missing part of the point of this, Naruto. It's not just about the explosions. It's also about putting your chakra into objects. Try putting it into this sheet of paper."

Naruto dubiously folded it into the slit in his palm. After a few seconds he made a face again and dropped it onto the table. He and Kabuto looked at it. Naruto giggled and Kabuto shot him a look.

"What?" Kabuto asked.

"I made a paper snowball," Naruto said.

Kabuto sighed, exasperated. "Maybe I should have given you the scrolls first."

"Scrolls? What scrolls?" Kabuto pushed them across the table. Naruto unrolled one. "Origami?"

"Think about it, if infusing paper with your chakra means that you can control it, it could have endless uses."

"Okay, if you say so." Naruto still seemed skeptical, but he took another sheet of paper as he pored over the scrolls, looking for a suitable form to begin with.

* * *

><p>"So what's this idea of yours?" Kushina asked, bemused. Naruto had shown her the 'mouths' on the palms of his hands and explained what the jutsu allowed him to do.<p>

"Well, since you taught me sealing from the ground up, showing me the different parts and limiters, I was thinking about the components of seals themselves."

Kushina nodded encouragingly. "Go on, this sounds promising."

"I was wondering if there might be a way, particularly with this new jutsu, for me to edit seals that how already been completed."

"How do you propose to do that?"

Naruto took a sheet of paper. "Here, I'll put my chakra into this so that I can show you. I haven't tried it before, so it's just theoretical at this point."

Kushina watched as Naruto put chakra into the paper before taking up a pen and drawing a simple exploding seal. Naruto grinned at her before carefully setting the tip of the pen to the pad of his left index finger, quickly drawing a small seal and duplicating it on the tips of the other four fingers of his left hand.

He set down the pen and explained. "You see, having my chakra in the paper I'm working on probably doesn't make a difference because it's my chakra in the seal anyway. If this works, I'm going to try with a seal that has your chakra rather than mine. Now, I designed the seals that I drew on my fingertips to allow me to alter the physical make-up, and therefore the purpose, of a seal when I channel chakra through them. If this entire thing works, I am going to ask Kabuto if I can tattoo them on, like the training weight seals, maybe with invisible ink, too, on all ten fingers."

"Alright, you sound like you know what you're doing," Kushina said with a grin. Honestly, she had never heard of someone trying this before. "Show me."

Naruto channeled chakra to the seals, lowering his index finger to the paper and carefully sliding it along. As Kushina watched, the seal began to change, lines dividing or changing, thinning out when more ink was required elsewhere in the design. It seemed as though the changes responded more to Naruto's will than anything, although he did occasionally make some of the changes by sliding one piece over the another place with the tip of his finger. When he finished, Kushina recognized the product as a basic storage seal. It had none of Naruto's clever variations applied to it, so it was unmistakable.

Kushina picked up a spare scroll, glancing at Naruto for permission. "May I?"

He gestured for her to go ahead, practically grinning from ear to ear and flushed at his success. Kushina made a handsign and pushed the scroll into the storage seal. It worked just as it should have, the scroll vanishing. Kushina picked up the paper, noting how the weight of the paper had not changed at all and the seal looked to be perfectly crafted.

Kushina smiled. "This is an amazing achievement. I've never known anyone else to so much as think of trying something like this."

Naruto beamed. "Thanks, Kaa-sensei. If you don't mind, I'd like to try with one of your seals, something that wasn't drawn using my chakra. I need to see if I can alter someone else's seal without infusing the paper with my chakra."

* * *

><p>As it turned out, with some experimentation, Naruto <em>did<em> end up needing to infuse the paper in order to alter Kushina's seals. It was hardly a setback, Kushina said, and Naruto didn't feel too bad about it.

When Naruto showed Kabuto, he agreed to let Naruto tattoo the seals onto his fingertips with invisible ink, letting Naruto do the ones on his left hand. Naruto mistrustfully allowed Kabuto to do the ones on his right hand after Kabuto pointed out that Naruto could always edit the seals of Kabuto made a mistake. Kabuto didn't make a mistake, as it happened, but Naruto checked over his work, going through one by one, looking for mistakes.

In order to edit Kabuto's work, Naruto just channeled chakra to the tips of his fingers, that being enough to allow the seals on his left hand to work.

Kabuto cautioned Naruto against tampering with the weight seals, placating him by allowing him to raise them one setting and reminding him that he still had to work on his taijutsu practice for the day.

* * *

><p>Kabuto had persisted in occasionally bringing Naruto along on autopsies to keep both of them from getting bored. As time went on, Naruto would help out, handing Kabuto a tool now and then when the chakra scalpels weren't enough. Naruto would talk, too, making observations, and Kabuto usually took the time to explain what he was doing to Naruto, going through medical procedures with him and showing him which pieces of physical evidence showed what about how the person lived or died.<p>

Kabuto had refrained from showing Naruto any of the failed members from Orochimaru's experiments, in case Naruto should wonder where the unusual symptoms came from. Kabuto had stuck with showing Naruto only those who had died in Otogakure, most of them shinobi, but with the odd civilian thrown in. This time was slightly different, however. Kabuto really had to get some work done, and while civilian deaths were all well and good, his employer cared more about why his experiments were dying than why his villagers were.

So Kabuto watched Naruto out of the corner of his eye all the while that he was dissecting the newest corpse. Naruto's eyes kept straying to the man's shoulder. Sometimes Naruto would frown, crane is neck a little better to get a better view, and then subside, looking annoyed. Finally, Kabuto let the green haze fade from his hands, licking dry lips.

"What's bothering you, Naruto?"

Naruto looked up from gazing at the man's exposed rib cage. "What?"

"You're clearly bothered by something. What is it? I thought you were over your distaste for autopsies."

"I am," Naruto said quickly. "It's just… that seal on his shoulder…" He wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"What about it?" Kabuto asked, keeping his voice steady.

"It's… it's just so poorly designed!" Naruto burst out. "What was this guy thinking, putting something like this on himself? There are one or two parts that I don't understand, but he was clearly too heavy-handed with some of these limiters. I can only assume that he was going for enhanced strength and speed, but he ended up overtaxing his heart and muscles way too quickly, not to mention his brain-! He must have died painfully." Naruto stopped. Kabuto was watching him. "I can stop…" Naruto said awkwardly.

"No, it's okay," Kabuto said quickly. "This is interesting. How would you change it?"

"Well, since you ask," Naruto said stripped off the rubber gloves he wore. He channeled chakra to his fingertips, lowering his right hand to touch the seal on the man's shoulder. He frowned, remembering that he could not change a seal that was not written on a surface infused with his chakra. Instead, he covered the entire seal with his palm, the edges of the 'mouth' there contracting and expanding around the skin on which the seal was written to work chakra into the cold skin. When Naruto was satisfied, he went back to work with his fingers, the shape of the seal slowly emerging under his ministrations. After a minute of silent concentration, Naruto removed his hand, pulling the gloves back on.

"That's how I would change it," Naruto said. "Or at least, I left the parts I didn't recognize alone, just moved them around a little. In any case, that would have taken care of the other parts." Naruto stared at the seal for a moment before giving a grim smile. "Too bad I was too late."

_Maybe not as late as you think,_ Kabuto thought.

* * *

><p>Orochimaru considered the sketches that Kabuto had drawn and the notes about the changes Naruto had made. "And he said that the seal was overtaxing their muscles, heart, and brain? You're sure?"<p>

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

"Thank Kami my design happened to offend the boy's delicate sense of craftsmanship," Orochimaru said dryly. "Maybe now I can get somewhere with this project."

"Keep in mind that there were parts that he did not edit," Kabuto said quickly. If this draft failed as badly as all of the others, Kabuto did not want to be accused of withholding vital information of the changes Naruto had made.

"Yes, I can see that," Orochimaru said, standing up, notes in hand. "You are dismissed, Kabuto. This is good work."

Kabuto hesitated slightly before standing up to leave. Orochimaru never let any of his lab assistants watch him work. The labs were Orochimaru's domains and he was just paranoid to want to be the only one to oversee all. Kabuto left, quietly closing the door and pausing outside just long enough to hear the lock click.

* * *

><p>"Watch this," Naruto said with a grin. He opened his hand and a paper crane lifted from his palm, flapping around the room. Kabuto gave a smile of encouragement.<p>

"Very good, Naruto."

Naruto ignored the patronizing tone. Or he didn't hear it. Sometimes it was hard for Kabuto to differentiate when Naruto was excited.

"That's not all I can do, I've just been trying to figure out if I can apply this paper thing to puppets. For some reason, I have more control over paper than I do with other substances. After all, I can make anything explode as long as it's the least bit pliant so that I can put chakra into it, but not everything I put chakra into moves as easily as paper. Maybe because it's so light?"

"Maybe," Kabuto agreed. He didn't cross his fingers. Mad scientists did not cross their fingers when they lied. _Mad scientist? Really? Could I be more melodramatic?_ "What were you saying about using paper to augment your puppets?" Kabuto asked quickly.

Naruto shook his head. "That's the thing, unless I'm facing an opponent who's afraid of paper cuts, I don't see how this will be helpful in battle."

Kabuto thought for a moment. "Have you considered combining it with genjutsu instead?" He asked. "After all, you've already used it to augment your sealing."

"True, and no, I haven't tried."

"Then you ought to get on that."

"Can I practice genjutsu on you?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pleeeeeaaaaaaasssssseeee?"

"_No_, Naruto."

Naruto heaved a sigh. "_Fine_, I guess if you're determined to make this _no fun_ there's no stopping you."

* * *

><p>Kabuto brooded. Once again, Orochimaru-sama was ignoring his dire warnings, rushing things along far too quickly. It had been a scant month since Naruto had been given Deidara's DNA infusion, but Orochimaru, his judgment slightly clouded, though Kabuto would never say as much aloud, by the impending release from his current skin, had decided that he could not put off the next infusion any longer.<p>

Kabuto, for one, was at a loss as to how he was supposed to hide it if Naruto's hair turned silver. He supposed he could always dye it, but Kushina would notice and ask Naruto about it. All Kabuto could hope for was that Naruto's body would not be altered any more than it already had been. That Naruto would become immortal and that was all. Hopefully it would not actually be necessary for Naruto to believe in the pagan god Jashin for the immortality to take affect. That was straying into the world of religious fanatics, and Kabuto already had to deal with one too many fanatics in his life, thank you very much.

As it had been such a success that last time, Kabuto repeated the injection procedure, emptying the syringe of the Jashinist's blood into one of Naruto's tenketsu.

Kabuto allowed a good number of hours to pass before testing the abilities. For this purpose, Orochimaru had 'donated' a good pint of blood from one of the prisoners down in the cells who was slated for execution and/or punishment. Kabuto did not know which prisoner it was. He had not asked. Orochimaru had not told him.

Kabuto dripped a little of the blood across Naruto's lips, holding a hand over his mouth rubbing his throat to make him swallow. The effect was apparent almost at once. Naruto's skin turned black as pitch, with paper-white stripes standing out against the black. Kabuto had drawn out the correct diagram in the blood of the prisoner on the table before placing Naruto over it in the first place, so he need not have worried about that.

Kabuto surrounded his hand in the comforting green glow of a chakra scalpel, lowering it until it was six inches from Naruto's skin. He hesitated. Would Naruto's scales prevent jutsu from coming into contact with him in this state? Only one way to find out. He lowered he hand, just barely grazing the inside of Naruto's wrist enough so that a bright well of blood seeped from the point of contact. Kabuto let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding.

It seemed that Orochimaru had been right, that the cursed state had caused Naruto's body to revert to one of flesh and blood. Kabuto watched, waiting for the injury to heal. When it didn't, he rubbed out a section of the diagram. The state was broken and Naruto's skin resumed its usual color. The injury dwindled and disappeared within the minute, and when Kabuto passed a healing jutsu over Naruto's skin, he felt the reassuring prickle of the boy's scales sucking away at it.

Kabuto sat down, pulling out a clipboard. He had gotten into the habit of not waking Naruto from these drug-induced comas until he had finished marking down all information. The logic being that questions occasionally came up while Kabuto was in the process of writing his reports and it would be very poor outlook indeed if Naruto was not already sedated and strapped down for Kabuto to pursue those queries.

Kabuto scribbled furiously- he would go back and rewrite any shorthand afterwards. Orochimaru would get the revised copy and Kabuto would keep the original notes.

At this juncture, Kabuto caught himself looking vacantly at Naruto, restrained and unconscious. Kabuto glanced back at his notes, frowning a little. Unfortunately, he could not test whether the Jashinist's DNA actually ensured Naruto's immortality. As much as his fingers itch to reach down and just sever Naruto's windpipe- one slice, he was on so much morphine he wouldn't even feel it- he was on strict orders to do nothing the sort.

Even if this exercise in immortality did not succeed and Naruto was still as mortal as he was from the start, he would still be a marvel, absolutely unique. Orochimaru would inhabit him for as long as was humanly possible, and if it turned out that he was flawed, that he could die, they could not risk killing him before absolutely forced to that conclusion by circumstance. Naruto might or might not have been immortal, and unless they were one-hundred percent certain that he was, they could not test and make one-hundred percent sure. In case he wasn't. Catch-twenty-two.

Kabuto raised his head to gaze meditatively at the boy strapped to the lab bench. An experiment. Less than human, but if this all worked, so much more and so, so worth it.

* * *

><p>AN: What's this? A six-month break and then two chapters in one week? Insanity! In any case, it's not that insane, as this chapter is a bit shorter than I generally try to aim for in this story. In any case, yup. Here you go. Actually, I'm pretty proud of this chapter, short though it may be.

Summary time!

1) Kushina pours her whole life story into Naruto's lap, conveniently never mentioning Minato's name, Konoha, or the Kyuubi. And she probably feels pretty bad about that.

2) Kabuto recognizes the lies. He's perceptive, he would. He's the one who told her to leave that stuff out. Remember?

3) Orochimaru insists that Kabuto give Naruto an injection of Deidara's DNA and Kabuto, as usual, scrambles to come up with a cover story for Naruto. If Naruto had more blanks in his memory, Kabuto didn't hear of it.

4) Kabuto teaches Naruto the kinjutsu from Iwa that is actually responsible for the mouths on Deidara's palms. In doing so, he passes off the effects of the jutsu, the effects of Konan's DNA and the effects of Deidara's DNA as part of the jutsu. Just to be clear here, Naruto is not able to infuse his chakra into things that are non-malleable. In addition, the amount of ink or other material with which the seal is actually drawn limits the size of the changes. However, as the lines can be thinned a significant amount to stretch farther, this will not be a size restriction most of the time. In addition, puppets are in here somewhere. They have not dropped out of this. ALSO, Naruto's mouths are different from Deidara's. They just are. Pick a reason, I listed a few. AND, Naruto, not being interested in making his clay sculptures into 'art', sticks to mostly geometric forms.

5) Naruto comes up with a way to edit seals, his and others', but the latter only if they are inscribed on a pliant medium. In addition, I'd like to make clear the difference between infusing seals with chakra as they are drawn or at the moment of their activation and kneading chakra into things. Seals use symbols (during creation) and handseals (during activation) to focus the chakra being put into them to be used for specific ends. The way Naruto infuses surfaces with chakra is more like putting into the surfaces the latent capability of being manipulated.

6) Naruto tattoos the seal-manipulation seals on his fingertips with invisible ink.

7) Naruto is present at the autopsy of a filed experiment of Orochimaru's and ends up editing and improving the cursed seal.

8) Keep in mind that Naruto may not have made the seal any better than it was in canon, he may just have brought it up from a near-total-failure to canon standards. Maybe.

9) Naruto's focus on genjutsu is nothing major, but it's still a thing, too. It's still there.

10) Kabuto gives Naruto Hidan's DNA and confirms that Naruto can use Hidan's Cursed State. However, he can't test if Naruto is immortal in case Naruto ISN'T immortal and Kabuto accidentally kills a valuable experiment.

Well, that about wraps it up. If you could kindly review with your comments, reactions, etc, it would be greatly appreciated!

Pax.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, this challenge belongs to dracohalo117, and whatever is left belongs to me.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: for gore and psychological trauma.

* * *

><p><em>Naruto looked around. He was alone. Or, not quite alone. He could tell he was being studied. Judged. Not chased, though. Observed. As though the chase had already happened and he had lost, <em>they_ had caught him. Whoever _they_ were._

_ Naruto blinked. His feet were wet. He could tell because his shoes were gone, his feet bare and cold. _They_ had taken his shoes so that he couldn't run._

_ Naruto held a hand up in front of his face. Blood dripped from it. In fact, blood poured from both of his hands, splattering his pale, cold feet. It was not his though, oh no. It was someone… else's. Someone he knew? Liked? Respected?_

_ A voice whispered to him. He did not jump, but his heart raced, thundered, echoed until it was hard to breathe, think, see, hear. But he still heard the voice. It was _their_ voice._

_ 'There is blood on your hands.'_

_ Naruto was panicking now. He wiped his hands down the front of his shirt, but they left brilliant red smears without cleaning his hands off one bit. They were just as soiled, bloody, tainted. He was doing nothing more than painting a target on himself._

_ The voice came once more. 'There is blood on your hands and it will never, ever come off.'_

Naruto woke up cold, so cold, with his heart still hammering.

* * *

><p>"No offensive jutsu. Are you ready, Naruto?"<p>

Naruto looked a bit exasperated. "What kind of opponent is going to ask me if I'm ready to fight?"

Kabuto shoved his glasses up, giving Naruto a cold, blank look. "I'll take that as a yes." Kabuto dove forward, fist drawn in close, snapping out for a punch. Naruto shunshined and Kabuto immediately dropped into a crouch, searching for him. _Where-?_

Naruto took careful aim and tossed a kunai down from the ceiling. Kabuto looked up and was just in time to whip out his own knife and slash the incoming one aside. Naruto watched Kabuto's stroke come around, make contact with the handle of his knife- bingo.

It exploded. To Naruto's credit he had only used a mildly concussive design, one with a loud noise and flash, a lot of smoke, but no real damage. He dropped down behind the older boy, silently kneeling behind Kabuto and withdrawing a coil of wire. Just as he reached forward to wind the wire around Kabuto's ankles, a foot came out of the cloying smoke, missing Naruto's fingers and instead getting him full in the face.

Naruto let out an involuntary gasp as white stars exploded in his vision. He knew they would last only moments, but he couldn't afford moments. He kawirimied, hoping that Kabuto might stumble over the resultant log in the smoke. He was on the wall now, near the ceiling as he nursed a probably broken nose. He dimly wondered why there was no blood, but was more focused withdrawing a scroll from the loop on his belt. From the scroll he unsealed a puppet, wooden, rudimentary, and heavier than he would have liked, but still perfectly functional.

The smoke below seemed to have thinned out somewhat with the movement of air associated with his kawirimi. The chakra strings fell into place almost naturally as he directed the puppet below. He remembered to allow for the difference in gravitational direction between his perch and his puppet's position.

Teeth gritted in a grin of concentration, he used the puppet to lead Kabuto on a furious, merry dance, hidden blade slicing out to just miss snagging Kabuto's clothes or scratching his glasses. The puppet couldn't lay a finger on the older boy, no matter how skillfully it was manipulated.

Naruto pressed on, mind racing with angle projections and ideas to act on later, when Kabuto allowed him time to reflect in the aftermath. To anyone he would have seemed completely preoccupied. So when he felt the cold, tingling press of a blade against his throat and stilled, it seemed as though he barely noticed his now-stationary puppet being torn to shreds on the floor below.

"Got you," Kabuto's voice said triumphantly.

"You too." It was Kabuto's turn to stop, feeling a knife at his throat. Naruto, the one in front of Kabuto, severed the chakra strings connected to his fingers and twisted around, smiling.

"I knew you were there, Kabuto," said the Naruto in front of the silver-haired boy.

Kabuto frowned a little. "I'll concede," he said, "but only for the purpose of instruction. You should not let a clone cover me like this." With that he dispelled the Naruto that held a knife to his throat.

"How did you know that one was the clone? I would have though you'd assume that the clone would be the distraction and I would be threatening you myself."

Kabuto straightened, what would have been an interesting sight to one not used to walking on walls. "I would have assumed just that, was I not sure that you were the one I punched earlier."

Naruto ruefully prodded his nose. The swelling had almost entirely gone down already, but it still hurt. He forgot to wonder once more why it wasn't bloody. "Why did you concede and let me win instead of calling the fight when you had the knife to my throat?" he asked.

"Because I knew you still had a clone in reserve, and wanted to see what you would do with it," Kabuto said smoothly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, but dropped to the floor, walking over to inspect his broken puppet instead of answering. That answer had fallen just a little _too_ freely from Kabuto's lips. Because it was the truth? Or because he had already come up with an excuse not to hurt Naruto? It hadn't escaped the boy's notice that Kabuto had been going much easier on him. Oh sure, he was giving his just as much work and making him train just as hard, but in spars he had been conceding far more readily than usual, apparently reluctant to do Naruto much damage. He had not been using jutsu on Naruto, had been pulling his punches.

Naruto surreptitiously touched his nose once more, chasing what last tingling sensations of pain that remained, but the break had already healed, whole and straight.

* * *

><p>Naruto flicked at one of the joints of his newest puppet model. This one was much lighter than what he was used to, it's frame covered in toughened leather rather than wood. One of the joints was giving him grief, however, and it had gotten to the point where he had removed it from the frame to look at it closely.<p>

Absently, he reached for a soldering tool, but found the movement arrested by an unfamiliar object. He looked up, following the hand and arm connected to the object and found the familiar round frames and slightly-false smile of Kabuto.

"You shouldn't be using a thing like that without wearing a pair of goggles."

Naruto waved this away. "I'm careful."

"Everyone thinks they are careful, but those who are prepared don't get hurt when they eventually forget to take precautions."

Naruto snorted, turning the troublesome piece of metal over in his hands. "What, you want me to wear those goggles all of the time?" He spared the offending article a glance. "They're welding goggles, they'd impede my peripheral vision."

Kabuto sighed, frustrated. "It's a gift, Naruto. Just do me a favor and keep them with you. Wear them on your forehead- I don't care. Just keep them with you to remind you that you won't live forever and you need to remember to be careful."

"I'm not the little kid I was when I came here, Kabuto."

That seemed to, amazingly, catch Kabuto off guard. "No," he finally conceded, "You're not." He hurried away, leaving the goggles on the bench.

Naruto hesitated before taking them, snapping them on over his eyes before taking the soldering tool up.

Later he would forget to take them off, pushing them up onto his forehead as he ate.

* * *

><p>Kabuto came into Kushina's cell, quiet as ever. He seemed distracted, giving Kushina a chance to scrape dirt over the seal designs she had been scratching in the floor before Kabuto noticed.<p>

"Yes sweetheart?" she asked brightly, disguising the fact that her pulse was racing, scared that she had nearly been caught planning. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Kabuto ran a hand through his hair, clearly flustered, ill-at-ease, twisting the end of his ponytail around a finger, before sighing, settling himself on the floor and crossing his arms tightly over his chest, knees drawn right up.

"You know, I bet even the Big Man would understand the concept of 'No means no,' Kabuto," Kushina snarked.

Kabuto honest-to-god _glared_ at her. "I highly doubt it, even if I'm positive that we're not thinking of the same situations."

"Well, what situation are you talking about?" Kushina bit out, "The one where the Big Man has you perform illicit experiments on my son?" Kushina barely reigned in her anger. There was no need to accidentally make Naruto's situation worse.

And just like that, it looked like Kabuto was completely in control again. He sat up, legs crossed, and pushed up his glasses, face impassive. "First of all, Orochimaru is in charge of more of the land around here than you know, so anything he's doing isn't illegal by his own law."

"It's _disgusting_, it's _inhumane_ and I won't let him continue," Kushina snarled.

Kabuto pointedly rolled his eyes. "_Second_ly, what are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid with me, not when you do a wonderful job without pretending." Kushina hissed. "Naruto showed me that 'technique' you taught him. What is it? A drug?"

Kabuto blinked at her, just the slightest bit taken aback. "You're upset about _that_? He laughed a harsh, grating sound. "You have no idea, do you? What Naruto showed you, those mouths- that really _is _a jutsu."

Kushina's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? What else have you done to him?" As Kabuto shook his head, a nasty grin breaking through his mock-sorrowful air. She snapped "_Tell me._"

"You've seen him and you've heard him," Kabuto retorted. "We aren't giving him anything anyone- anything _he_ wouldn't want. He's happy because we're giving him knowledge and power. Not that it will matter to you for long. Not that it will matter to him, either."

"What are you planning? What's Orochimaru planning?"

"Me?" Kabuto spread his hands jeeringly. "I'm not planning to do anything that I haven't already done to him."

"Clarify." There was a pleading note in Kushina's voice, and Kabuto wondered at her acting ability. There was no way this low level of psychological torture was doing anything to the likes of her. Then again, this was her son they were discussing….

Kabuto leaned in, letting the smile drop easily from his face. "Alright, Kushina. I'll tell you a secret." He glanced around conspiratorially. "I've been lying to your son. Lying about you, and me, and him. He believes me of course. Why wouldn't he? Not like he ever had a mentor figure before I came along." Kushina's eyes flashed with something Kabuto didn't catch, but he let it pass.

"I told him what my master wants him to hear. I recounted the past Orochimaru fabricated for me, instead of the truth. Which is that I'm such a good spy that my own mother didn't recognize me when she was sent to kill me." Kabuto tried to hold back the bitter note in his voice, but gave up, letting the words pour forth.

"My mother made me everything I was. She gave me a home and a family when I was an orphan. She gave me these glasses when I couldn't see, she gave me a name so that I could speak and have the words belong to me, she gave me standards and a sense of duty and loyalty. My master? He gave me a way to avenge her. And I took it. Do you think your son will do the same for you?"

Kushina did not speak. Kabuto went on, voice heavy with memories. "I haven't been home for years. Neither has Naruto. Neither have you. Somehow, I don't think any of us are going to make it out of here the same as when we came." He reached out and flicked her handcuffs. "Particularly those of us who will be leaving feet first in a coffin, Kushina-sama."

She found her voice. "You don't know what it's like to lose a child," she said quietly.

"No," Kabuto conceded, "But I know what it's like to lose yourself- I've felt it twice, in fact. And I can tell you, it's not a bunch of laughs." He stood up, dusting himself down. " Look at it this way," he said briskly, "at least he has allies. I don't want him to get hurt, although that impulse is against my better judgment. Lord knows you don't want him to get hurt. Although how you can want that, when you lie to him as much as I do, I may never know. However, just understand this: he is happy. Despite everything, your son is happy here, and may very well be happy up until the point when we're ready for him. When we finish what we've started. So do him a favor. Don't make his and your last memories of him feeling trapped and wronged and all that. Considering, his life could be much worse right now. At least he has you. And me."

* * *

><p>Orochimaru scratched absently at this skin. It was starting to come apart. There were only three or four months left before he could be rid of this nuisance. Before he would able to slip into a skin much better tailored for his plans. Months of preparation, of diverting his restless excitement into project after project, would finally be realized.<p>

He steadied himself. No need to get too emotional. What were a few months when he would soon have eternity?

Automatically, he reached for the vial that he had selected to be next. When his questing fingers didn't find it, he could admit this to himself, here in private; he may have been slightly concerned for a moment. His heartbeat _may_ have elevated for a moment or two.

Maybe.

Before he remembered that he had given the blessed vial to Kabuto already.

He was getting jumpy. Paranoid. What was this? Was it merely because the end of his project was finally in sight? Was he actually afraid that something would go wrong?

Maybe it was the fault of that bitch, the Uzumaki. Maybe she was making him feel like this. Before, he had rather liked the dramatic irony of having her teach her son, with neither one the wiser of what was being done to the other. But he hadn't seen her in person in months, and her presence was starting to make him uneasy. She was too much of a wrench to be allowed near the delicate machinations of his plan-in-motion. She needed to be put out of the picture, and fast.

But how?

Orochimaru drummed his fingers lightly on the edge of his desk. He had kept her around because she was a good fighter, although that really hadn't done him any good in the end, and because she was the boy's mother. She was being kept deliberately ignorant and powerless, and while Orochimaru often liked the effect this had on his prisoners, he found himself wanting her to _know_ what he was doing. To feel how helpless she was because there was_ nothing she could do_.

Finally he stood up, pocketing a vial he had been saving. That would mean leaving an ability less impressive for last, but the order didn't really matter, as long as the ends justified the journey.

He swept out of the room, soon finding Kabuto bent over the boy's unconscious and restrained figure.

"Kabuto," he said, privately smirking, when a certain stiffening of Kabuto's shoulders betrayed his surprise.

The silver-haired boy's voice betrayed no emotion, as he said "Orochimaru-sama?" declining to turn and face him.

Orochimaru drew up even with him. "Finished?" he asked.

In response, Kabuto peeled back one of the boy's eyelids. Orochimaru couldn't help the breath that caught in his throat at the sight of his own Rinnegan. Well, it was almost his. As good as his.

"No trouble?"

"None, Orochimaru-sama."

"Excellent." Orochimaru clapped Kabuto on the back. "Now give him this." He handed Kabuto the vial he had slipped off of his desk. Kabuto was definitely caught off guard by that one, speechless as he examined the vial in his hand.

_Still got it,_ Orochimaru thought, inwardly smirking again. He had just turned to go when Kabuto finally spoke.

"_Now,_ Orochimaru-sama?" He sounded stricken. Orochimaru rolled his eyes. Downright _scandalized, _in fact.

"Yes, now."

"But, Naruto's vitals only stabilized a few minutes ago! I mean, true, this particular transfusion did seem to take rather more quickly than the others, and with less hassle, but I would still advise waiting a few days, if not a few _weeks_-"

"Kabuto." Orochimaru opened the door to the hallway. "Do it _now_."

* * *

><p>Kabuto gulped. This was <em>not<em> what he had signed up for. Once the deed was done, he sat unhappily, playing with the goggles he had given Naruto. Although he by no means considered himself a seal master- even Naruto was better than he was, but Kabuto could blame that on Naruto's genetics- Kabuto didn't even _know_ his own genetics-

Kabuto looked down at the goggles, running his finger along the leather strap. Little did Naruto know, but these goggles actually did serve a purpose. Along the inside of the lens rims and on the underside of the strap, concealed beneath a carefully stitched piece of leather, was a very particular set of seals. They would draw chakra from Naruto directly in order to cast a sort of misdirection array.

So long as Naruto followed Kabuto's advice and wore the goggles constantly, particularly if he wore them covering his eyes or on his forehead, anyone looking at Naruto would not focus on his eyes. That would ensure that, should Naruto look in a mirror, or should Kushina look at Naruto, it would not register that Naruto's eyes were any color other than their normal blue. They would see only what they expected to see.

The nice thing was that the effect could not be dispelled, as a genjutsu could be. It could also not be bypassed in any way that he knew of, short of removing the goggles.

Kabuto gently set them down on the edge of the operating table beside Naruto. He was distracting himself.

Giving Naruto two injections in a row, in a _day_, did not sit well with him. It couldn't be clearer that Orochimaru was getting impatient. And when he finally did melt down, Kabuto was not going to be caught in the blast radius.

Contrary to Kushina's beliefs, and Orochimaru-sama's, too, come to that, Kabuto did indeed have an escape plan. Several, actually.

* * *

><p>Naruto tried to sit up. He was confused and sore. His head hurt. He decided to take stock of the situation. He was in a room without furniture, like the training rooms he and Kabuto often used. The lighting was dim and flickering like someone was bending over him, and he was pretty sure he had never been in this particular room before.<p>

He curled up, clutching his head, disregarding the goggles in place on his forehead and the pain in the rest of his body. There was a sort of pounding pressure in his skull. Two different kinds of pressure, actually. One was a steady squeezing, twisting sensation, making his gasp and feels hot and tingly, like he was going to throw up, or like his limbs were falling asleep. He was distracted from that sensation by a sort of booming, like a loud voice was blaring at him, trying to attract his attention. Through this haze, he felt a blow fall, striking at his throat.

He curled up tighter. _Please let this be a dream. I can't deal with this._

Another blow fell. Naruto peeked out, opening his eyelids the merest fraction. As soon as he did, the pain diminished drastically. The squeezing sensation eased, and he could barely hear the blaring anymore.

Which didn't change the fact that he was being mercilessly beaten to a pulp.

By Kushina.

Naruto would have reeled if he hadn't just become aware of the paralyzing pain in his muscles. It seemed that he had been lying there for at least several minutes, allowing Kushina to attack him.

_How can this be?_

"Kushina?" he gasped.

Her eyes flashed. "Don't you _dare_ say my name. Not after what you've done."

"What? What have I-" Naruto was cut off by a blow to the diaphragm. He struggled to sit up, to get into a better position to defend himself, gasping.

To his confusion, Kushina backed up. "Get up." She said. "I want you to fight back, you coward."

"Kushina, I don't want to fight you! It's me!"

"Exactly," she said. There was anger in her voice, and hate. Also, bizarrely, there were tears running down her face. Her eyes were unfocused and her voice shaking with emotion. With _rage._

"I _hate _you." The words hit Naruto harder than any of her blows had. "You're a monster. You deserve worse than death. You deserve the fact that your parents are dead. That you can't trust anyone. The fact that you're so utterly _wretched_ that _no one loves you._ I'm going to kill you, out of revenge, and because no one ought to have the power you have, but not because you deserve to die. You _deserve_ to _suffer._ You deserve death more than my husband did, more than I did, _and more than my son did, you bastard,_ but I can't give you what you _really_ deserve. All I can hope is that the Shinigami can torture you in my stead. I'll see you soon, your poisons will take care of that, but the Shinigami and I have met before. Maybe he'll do me this one favor."

"Please," Naruto is crying in earnest now, and he hasn't cried in years, so his vision is blurred and he's sobbing, barely able to stand. "I don't know what I did wrong! I thought you liked me!"

Kushina let out a scream of derision. "_Liked_ you? What gave you that impression? Are you really this arrogant? This _stupid?_"

She advanced on Naruto. She was unarmed, but it didn't matter. She simply wrapped her hands around his throat, lifting him off the floor.

"Jutsu don't work on you for some reason, and you didn't give me any weapons. But I don't care."

Naruto gasped. "You're- killing-"

"Good."

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm- sorry-"

"Save it. I don't believe you."

Naruto couldn't speak. The pounding in his head was coming back full force and blackness was eating at the edge of his vision. With all of his remaining strength, he kicked out at Kushina's shin. With a grimace of pain she dropped him to the floor, grip just as strong as ever, but no longer suspending him.

In a panic, Naruto lashed out with one hand, meaning to push her back. He didn't catch what happened, but she let out a scream, collapsing on the floor, red hair pooling around her, rapidly slicking together in dark spikes.

Naruto staggered, blinking away the oxygen-deprivation, the effects of which were already fading. When he saw the blood seeping out of the body before him, he dropped to his knees and flipped her onto her back.

He was afraid of what he would see.

She was still alive, but just barely. There was a metal spike of some sort sticking out of her chest, just a hair's breadth beneath her heart.

Tears still poured from her eyes, but she looked more focused, like a veil had lifted. It would only be later that the whisper of _genjutsu_ would suggest itself to Naruto.

Now, however, he watched Kushina as her hand found the spike in her chest, as her eyes sought Naruto's, confused.

Confused?

"Naruto?" she gasped. "He told me you were _dead._ I went to _kill _him for what he did."

Naruto covered her mouth. 'Don't, Kushina. We can still save you. I know medical jutsu. _Kabuto_ can save you!"

"That kid!" Kushina said, her voice soft and fading fast. "He warned me. About- a mother trying to kill her child. Naruto- I deserve this. I didn't know- I thought you were- dead. I thought you were- _Him._"

"Stop!" Naruto's face was wet and tear dripped steadily onto the woman lying, bleeding and broken on the floor. Because of him. "I know you didn't mean it. But you're not dead yet! I'll save you-"

Kushina's fist clenched in Naruto's shirt brought him to a halt. He swallowed his words as she pulled him down to her level. She already smelled like death, like sweat and the blood that was leaking from the corner of her mouth, painting her teeth red and making her skin look stark and yellow-white.

"Your father and I love you," she whispered. "We didn't want this life for you."

"You can't die! You didn't find your son!"

Kushina stared at him, then covered his hand with hers. "Yes I did."

* * *

><p>AN: Well... yeah.

1) Yup, that dream sequence was definitely not foreshadowing, either. Nope. (Seriously, the dreams will serve a larger purpose than plot devices, I swear.)

2) Naruto and Kabuto fight. Naruto is getting suspicious of Kabuto, because he notices Kabuto pulling his punches.

3) Naruto is working, and Kabuto offers him a olive branch in the form of some kick-ass goggles. I personally like goggles. A lot. Yup. Self-indulgence.

4) Kabuto and Kushina have a friendly little high-stress shouting match about Naruto's hand-mouth-technique... please ignore that phrasing... and Kabuto reveals his REAL PAST because canon is ANNOYING and chose to change Kabuto's backstory AFTER I had posted chapter seven. Why? Also, Kabuto reveals that he is rooting for Naruto. Which is what Orochimaru gets for never learning to make friends who don't want to stab him in the back.

5) Orochimaru is kind of losing it (So is everyone. I apologize. I've been going through very stressful times for the last few weeks. I can't even convey how stressful. So if this chapter is as meh-worthy as I think it is, just know that later ones will be much better...) ANYway, Orochimaru asks Kabuto to give Naruto the Sharingan immediately after getting the Rinnegan. (Side note: before I started writing this story, I drew up carefully detailed notes on how Naruto's Rinnegan and Sharingan and Zetzu DNA would affect the look of his eyes when activated, not activated, etc. I have the notes by me right now.)

6) Those goggles should hide Naruto's eye changes from other people. That's about it.

7) Kushina was under a genjutsu that made her think her son was dead and that Naruto was Orochimaru. So she attacked, of course. She didn't think to dispel it because she would believe that of Orochimaru and was too upset to stop and think rationally. She may have been trained better, but she was out of touch for a dozen years, soooooo... (Also, the two headaches Naruto had simultaneously are important. One was the result of his transfusion, but the other is the important one...) By the way, Kushina is still going to figure in the story. Just not in the same way. You'll see.

Well, that about wraps it up. Please review. I know this chapter was horrible compared to the others, but still review on plot, I guess. Thanks.

Pax.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter IX

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

><p>Kabuto observed Naruto. He was clutching his mother for all he was worth. He was almost certainly crying. Kushina was dead. Kabuto turned away, trying hard not to betray the wincing, horrified pity he felt. No, not pity. <em>Sympathy.<em>

He glanced at Orochimaru, who was staring, impassive. Only Kami knew what he was thinking. Kabuto broke the silence. "Genjutsu?"

Orochimaru flicked a look his way. "Indeed. To make Uzumaki-sama believe her son was dead, and that she was able to break free and seek me out."

"So," Kabuto said slowly, dredging up the words as if each weighed a great deal, "All of those things she said were meant for you?"

"Precisely." Orochimaru looked at Kabuto properly. The latter hastily arranged his face into a look of indifference. "Did you note the boy's progress?"

"He used an ability of the Rinnegan," Kabuto intoned faithfully.

"Not only that," Orochimaru said. The ends of a sneering smile were making themselves seen, twisting his thin face into white creases. "But he has unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"_What?"_ Kabuto gasped. _Curse_ Orochimaru for never giving him enough information. This would prove an actual threat and he did not even know what had triggered it. If Orochimaru_-sama_ was telling the truth. If the snaky bastard _ever_ told the truth.

Orochimaru's smile took on a patronizing edge. He recited, as if to someone who should certainly be expected to know this, "A Mangekyou is typically unlocked by the act of killing a person with a close personal attachment to you. I believe Uchihas have been exploiting this for generations, killing those closest to them in order to unlock this ability."

Kabuto frowned. Something was very clearly being left out from that explanation. Likely, it was not the killing of the person closest that activated the ability, it was the emotional experience of losing someone closest to you. If the death did not cause an emotional reaction, most likely no change would occur. _Ah, to be born an Uchiha. That particular road to power would seem to be a tailor-fit to the life I have led._

"In any case," Orochimaru said, not appearing to pay the slightest mind to Kabuto's state of morbid introspection, "You'll have your work cut out for you now."

_As if the last almost-two-years were a cakewalk!_ "How so, Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked, trusting himself only to speak from within a mask of frigid politeness and careful submission. Orochimaru must have detected some discrepancy, however, as he gave Kabuto a swift, searching look, as if wondering why Kabuto was speaking as if it was his first day on the job.

"Well, because, while concealing from the boy his powers, old and new, with exception of those you have introduced him to, I want you to have him take the body of dear, thoughtful, Uzumaki-sama and create a puppet. Human puppets are not the most versatile I have encountered, but the bond of blood between master and weapon will prove most elegant, wouldn't you say?"

"Naruto will never do such a thing, no matter what is promised to him, no matter how you threaten him," Kabuto said flatly.

"It is not a question of threatening, or even of promising. Perhaps he would be more amenable to suggestion if you were to plant in his mind the idea that Uzumaki-sama's last wish, and last gift to him is what physical protection, strength, and companionship she offers as a puppet. That it would be an insult to her to waste the sacrifice she has made."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama. Now, Orochimaru-sama?"

"Yes, Kabuto. With the utmost rapidity. That will be all."

"Thank you." Kabuto left, the door clapping shut behind him. He composed himself, standing outside of the room in which Naruto no doubt still crouched, grieved, gathering in any outlying emotion, save the ones he chose to display.

' _Plant in his mind.' _If he had to admit it to himself, he was disgusted. Not with Orochimaru. He expected nothing less from the snake Sanin. He was disgusted at himself. '_An insult to her.'_ Here he was, enforcing traumatic circumstances the type of which had led up to his being here in the first place. It was in that moment, as Kabuto's mind spun with lies, betrayal, circumstance, and particularly memory, that something seeped into his mind. He recognized the feeling, it was the same one he got when Orochimaru began speaking of his ex Akatsuki partner, Sasori of the Red Sand. Generally, he dismissed these creeping tendrils of doubt, but now, now when all he wanted was to think differently, like someone, anyone else, even for a few hours, he embraced the feeling, those cold trickles of strangle incongruous memory.

And he remembered why he had been sent.

* * *

><p>Naruto didn't look around when he heard Kabuto enter the room. He didn't want to face him, didn't want to face <em>anyone<em> who might be associated with the man Kushina had been talking about. The one who must have been Kabuto's master, the one he hadn't talked about in ages.

He should probably attack Kabuto. Force him to talk, to tell Naruto about who was responsible for this. Naruto closed his eyes against the blurry halo affect his tears were creating. He felt the salty, tear-tracked skin of his face stretch uncomfortably as his breath hitched. He felt Kabuto's hand on his shoulder, his urgent, surprised, shocked voice, making words, calling his name, trying to get through. Naruto couldn't even summon the energy to shrug him off. He was drained, hurt, aching in ways a beating had never made him feel, not even on his birthday.

And then there was the fact that he had killed her. The cold certainty of that fact pierced Naruto like a spike of searing diamond-hard clarity. He had been fighting her, fighting back against an onslaught she had not meant for him, and then she had died. And it was his fault. He wasn't clear how, but all of that blood- Well. He had always wanted to be an assassin. He was unsurprised that his goals hadn't changed. What a monster. His mother dead and all he wanted was to grow up to be the shinobi she had been. Maybe even better. Make her proud, in some strange, nonsensical way. Avenge her, if he could.

_His mother. _Was she really that? Was she the biological answer he had been pining for, longing after his whole life? What did it matter? Even if he was not the son from her story, she was as good a mother as he had ever known. Better. And he had killed her.

He was aware of Kabuto pulling him up, away from the spectacle. The first words Naruto heard himself say, rang oddly, blunt and strange, his voice thick and slow as his thoughts. "What will you do with her?"

Kabuto didn't reply. After a few moments, Naruto twisted in his grip, stopping in the hallway- When had Kabuto led him out of that room? – And staring at Kabuto, who met his eyes with an awful, horrifying degree of sympathy. "What are you going to do with her?" Naruto asked, desperately.

"Autopsy," Kabuto said quietly. "Unless…." Kabuto trailed off, eyes flickering back and forth between Naruto's as if thinking, or deciding.

"Unless what?"

"Unless you think she would want to be of use to you. To protect you, even in death. After all, you were as close as mother and son. She would have sacrificed herself to save you, and she would never want you to forget that."

"Are you suggesting," Naruto asked slowly, torn between astonishment and horror, "That I make her body into a puppet?"

"Of course, it was only a suggestion, you don't have-" but Kabuto was silenced by Naruto's expression, wonder hardening into the worst kind of resolve, the kind which sets events on inevitable courses and that precedes the type of determination known to topple the best-made plans.

"No, that sounds right, somehow. We will fight side-by-side, and when I meet the man responsible for that genjutsu, we'll kill him together."

Kabuto walked away, and Naruto followed. He led the boy back to his room, locking him in and leaving before he would have to say another word. When he returned to the room where it had happened, the body had been removed, the blood hastily cleaned. Orochimaru-sama was nowhere to be found.

Kabuto retired to the library to think about his master, his _two_ masters, and to plot his next move. Now that he had remembered the truth, his position was a tricky one indeed.

* * *

><p>Orochimaru itched with excitement. At least, it was probably not the excitement that was making his flesh crawl and itch. It was more likely the need for a new skin. This one had long outlived its usefulness, and in two months or so, he was be exchanging it for that of his pet experiment, the Uzumaki boy.<p>

Oh, there were plenty of preparations to arrange at this point, but one that Orochimaru did not deem necessary was one that, confusingly, Kabuto seemed to believe integral. Securing he boy's continued cooperation.

Why did that matter? Orochimaru's immediate instinct was to look with suspicion at Kabuto's motives. But that was ridiculous, Kabuto was completely loyal.

Or was he? Was Orochimaru being complacent in believing he had Kabuto's continued loyalty after all this time, all he's exposed him to, given him, told him, let him see, put him through?

Was he being paranoid?

_Was he being paranoid? _

The correct answer was _yes, better paranoid than dead,_ but it still bothered Orochimaru. Had his old sensei and his old teammates been right to call him unstable? But how could he be? Wasn't the very fact that he was successfully running a powerful shinobi village practically singlehandedly a sure sign of his mental balance and prowess? _A shinobi village with no fixed population estimate because of all of the rape, murder, violence, suicide missions, new arrivals..._

Orochimaru shook off these thoughts impatiently. None of that mattered. _None of it. _

Kabuto's loyalty was no consequence. He had nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. He was Orochimaru's man, through-and-through, or so he pretended. And so long as his level of devoted service remained the same, Orochimaru would not trifle with such notions again. He couldn't. It was too dangerous.

In any case, there were preparations to be seen to, and although it was a nuisance, he supposed going to the trouble of gaining the Uzumaki boy's trust would be worth it in the end. He had to prepare the final infusion, he had to supply the proper materials for the new project he had granted the boy, and it was high time he began planning his return to his home village, this time with a brand-new face and a smile just for his old sensei. And, of course, when the last infusion was completed, it was time to turn his attention to the tiny matter of the Kyuubi and how to pry it loose from his new skin.

* * *

><p>Naruto had not intended to sleep. He wanted to stay up, to pace, to scream or sit quietly and plan. But clearly he had been too drained to pursue any of these things, for here he was, in what couldn't possibly be anything but a dream.<p>

Cold water swirled around his sandaled feet, drenching the cuffs of his pants so they clung to him, gritty and uncomfortable. He looked down and couldn't even see his own feet through the murky water. Clearly this was not his destination, a place where he was expected to stay. He had to move on. He turned his face this way and that, determining which direction to move in. Finally, he decided that if this was a dream, his destination would be wherever he went, regardless of which direction he actually walked in.

So he splashed forward, into the dimness of the tunnel.

It was quite some time later, a time he would only remember later on as a confused impression of freezing toes, difficult movement, and grungy tile walls, that he arrived in a sort of huge boiler room. Naruto had never seen a boiler room in his life, but this was clearly what the huge chamber was. The floor was warm and dry and there was a faint radiance of warmth from the other side of the cathedral-sized room.

Oh, cathedral-sized? Only in breadth. In height it was more like two or three cathedrals stacked. Huge brass bars or columns stretched from the floor on one side of the room and stretched upward, disappearing near the ceiling above. On Naruto's side of the bars, there was a large, bulky-looking object, taller by far than Naruto, covered by a white sheet and left, almost forgotten-looking by the wall.

Naruto heard whispers as he surveyed the chamber, turning to see a group of people huddled as far as they could get from the bars of brass. At least, they looked like people. They were long and whitish, tortured and somehow bound, suppressed, although there were no signs of physical confinement. They were staring at him in horror and whispering to each other, high and hissing and somehow on a level of communication he couldn't understand. He turned away, slightly sick, and caught the eyes of whatever was behind the bars, instead.

No, not behind the bars. In the _cage._ The eyes were enormous, orange-red and brilliant, and in the gloom that pervaded the cage, Naruto could pick out the warmly glowing contours of what had to be the largest fox he had ever seen. Nine fury tails, each as thick as the roots of a single tree in the Forest of Death, lay lazily on the stone-flagged floor, or else waved slowly, in the dark, dusty air.

"Hello, Uzumaki. I've been trying to reach you for some time. Please, sit down." The voice was neither as deep, nor as loud as Naruto had been expecting. He had watched the great fox's mouth move as it spoke, but he got the impression that if this had not been a dream, he would not have understood that sounds it was making.

He sat, well, sprawled, really, on the floor. "Are you the Kyuubi?" he asked conversationally. It just seemed to be true. He knew it the way one knows things in dreams, instinctually and without question.

"Yes, I am. What are you here to ask me?"

Naruto blinked. That was a strange sensation, like this was real instead of a dream. How was he going to get home from wherever this was… "Didn't you summon me here?"

"You are my host, we can speak at any time now that you know of the possibility. I want to answer your questions. And get to know you." He looked Naruto over critically. "You don't look much like my last host, although I guest I'm not one to talk. Not like I resemble any of my family."

"Who was your last host?" Naruto asked, curiously.

"Why, your mother. Kushina."

If Naruto had not been sitting, his knees would have buckled. "So she really is my-"

"I'm afraid so."

"But she didn't-"

"Tell you about me? Probably she was under instruction not to. But like she said, she never wanted this life for you, didn't want you to go through what she did. You and I share a day of celebration, of mob demonstrations and violence and drinking. She didn't have to go through that, exactly, but she was pushed around pretty badly until she moved to Konoha. She didn't want that for you."

Naruto lowered his head, felt tears stinging his eyes. "I killed her. I'm a monster. I deserve whatever the villagers do to me after I get home."

"Hey, now," Kyuubi said sharply. "Don't ever say that. Having power, and using it to defend yourself and your loved ones makes you strong. Makes you better than the snake Sannin."

"Who's that?"

"The one who's been financing and facilitating these genetic experiments on you."

"_What _genetic experiments?" Naruto was floored, appalled. Is this where the gaps in his memory had come from?

"Ah," the Kyuubi looked sorry, as much as a giant glowing fox could portray emotion as human as sorrow. "I thought you knew."

"I'm going to kill him." It was a promise, a statement of resolution.

"If you want my assistance, I'm offering," The Kyuubi said, seriously.

Naruto nodded, blindly. "How long has this been going on?" He gritted out.

"Since you were ten and first arrived in this place." The Kyuubi answered.

"And why?"

"That I can only guess at. However, I can give you one lead. When you first arrived, he sent in nine skilled genjutsu experts to try and reason with me or take me from your body." The Kyuubi nodded at the shapes of people huddled in the corner, still whispering. "Eight minds have sat trapped there for well over a year. One I sent back as a warning. He lived just long enough to tell the snake that I would rather kill you than allow him to take me from you. The messenger, I'm sure, died of Youki poisoning shortly thereafter."

"Youki?"

"My own brand of chakra. I am composed of it, I control it, and it can be highly dangerous to humans. Including you. As my host, your seal should negate the effects, but something is a bit wrong with yours. I suggest you work on that at your earliest convenience."

"What seal, where is it?"

"On the bars of my cage you will see part of it. The other part appears when you channel chakra, as black lines against your skin."

Naruto shook his head, trying to understand, to take in everything. He got the distinct feeling his was being given information in the wrong order, with lots of important things missing, but he kept being distracted from this as the Kyuubi kept offering new, incomplete pieces of information.

"Why should I trust you?" Naruto asked.

"Because if you die, I die, and wherever you are, I must be. Your interest is my own self-interest. And anyway, despite what the snake has done to your body, he did your mind a world of good, and I actually quite like you." The Kyuubi paused, thinking. "And that Kabuto boy, too," He said finally.

"Kabuto?" Naruto said, half surprised, half scornful.

"Yes. He has depth, and a sense of decency that he hadn't had to exercise until you came along. I think he's rooting for you, secretly, and that could make all of the difference when we escape."

"And how will we do that?"

"I can help you. I, being on the inside, have been keeping tabs on what has been done to you. I know what you will be able to do when the slightest opportunity arises to escape. I will signal you, and until then, we will keep in contact."

"Is it time for me to leave?" Naruto asked, noticing the shift in the Kyuubi's tone of voice.

"I believe so. You have questions, I know, but you must think first about what you have learned. Come to some conclusions. And wait for my signal."

Naruto nodded, and rose to leave. As he turned, he caught sight of the huge object under the sheet. "What is that?" He asked, poised to leave the chamber.

The Kyuubi gave a great sigh. "I do not know what it will become, only that it is a product of what the snake Sanin has done to you. When it fully forms, I assume you will have to face it."

"I see," Naruto said. He stepped out of the chamber, down into the water, but the water was missing, and so was the floor, he was falling, falling, and landed with a jolt and a bounce of bedsprings, his heart pounding and his hands shaking.

* * *

><p>For the next few weeks, Naruto was planning. Planning how to escape, planning how to exploit Kabuto, planning what he would say to Sarutobi when he returned-<p>

But most importantly, he was planning his new puppet. He measured and sketched, chose and rejected materials and ideas, begged input and reference books from Kabuto.

Kabuto was there, a strange constant. He seemed more on edge than ever before, but Naruto took no notice, or seemed to.

After a week or two or preserving and cleaning, he was ready to begin real work on his masterpiece. His first thought was this: wooden or metal frame. Wood could be splintered or rotten and required constant upkeep. But it was lighter than metal and did not conduct heat. Metal was more durable, and rusting wouldn't be an issue if he used the right type, or even the right jutsu. But it was fairly heavy. Naruto gritted his teeth. He would become strong enough that the metal puppet was no trouble at all.

Next he turned to structural shape, allowing room for weapons, for seals, for compartments and for changes to be made later. He worked for hours at a time, stopping to stretch or train. He couldn't let his skills atrophy if he was planning to escape soon.

Some nights he spoke to the Kyuubi, either as a voice in his head, or in his dreams, in the great chamber. He asked question after question, and the Kyuubi patiently answered each one, but still Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that he could not be trusted. The Kyuubi seemed to know how he felt, giving curt answers and lashing his tails. Naruto could tell he was frustrated by the lack of trust, feeling he had done nothing to deserve Naruto's suspicion. They hadn't discussed that yet, not really, but Naruto could see that conversation just waiting to happen, brewing like a storm on the horizon.

* * *

><p>"Tell me, Kabuto, how is the boy's little project coming along?"<p>

Kabuto pushed up his glasses calmly. He knew for a fact that Naruto had finished the puppet just yesterday, or, as Naruto had put it, completed this first edit of it. Kabuto had requested that Naruto seal it in a scroll and then let Naruto observe him lock it in a cabinet in the operation room. Naruto was very protective of this, his best work. And it was, although Kabuto wouldn't admit it to Orochimaru, a true masterpiece. Elegantly designed, and deadly efficient. "It is nearly finished, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said smoothly, covering the lie with ease.

"Excellent. As you know, we have a little over two months left, and I'm eager to hurry things along. Now, will you give Naruto the final infusion?"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama. But what of the Kyuubi? Need I remind you of the experts you sent in over a year ago?"

"No, you need not," Orochimaru said sharply. "That will be dealt with after you give the boy Zetsu's DNA. See to it, Kabuto." _Was Orochimaru being foolish to trust this operation to someone who he suspected of disloyalty? But Kabuto had never double-crossed him before, had he? _Orochimaru resolved to observe this operation personally. "I will be monitoring this last infusion from the adjoining observation room."

"Very good, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto left, smirking. So if Naruto _happened _to escape, Orochimaru would be watching and Kabuto would ensure that he could not be held responsible. On the other hand, it would be damn-near impossible for Naruto to escape at all without help, and even if he did, it would be wise for Kabuto to make himself scarce. It's not like he had nowhere to go.

* * *

><p>"Naruto, I have one final vitamin sample for you," Kabuto said, sticking his head around the edge of the door."<p>

_One more genetic experiment, you mean, you freak,_ Naruto thought viciously. _Kyuubi?_

_Go with him. If he is giving you power you would be a fool not to accept, and, anyway, it would be suspicious. _Naruto swung his legs off his bed and followed Kabuto, trying not to clench his fists.

_Is it almost time for me to get out of this place?_

_I believe so. Let's just see where he takes us._

To Naruto's surprise, Kabuto led him to the same operation room where he had been working on his puppet. He knew the scroll it was sealed in was stored in one of these cabinets because he had seen Kabuto lock it up.

_Alright, here's the plan, _the Kyuubi said hurriedly,_ he's about to sedate you so listen closely…._

* * *

><p>Kabuto handed Naruto the glass of his usual knockout mixture. As Naruto took it, he seemed to be concentrating on something very intently. It gave Kabuto simultaneously hope that the boy had some plan and a dread of what part of his own physical safety was accounted for in this plan. As soon as Naruto was out cold, Kabuto strapped him down, working quickly to give an appearance of competency and efficiency, and carefully not looking at the darkened two-way mirror set into the wall.<p>

He administered the shot without incident and then sat down with his usual folder of shorthand notes to wait. A few minutes later he heard a sound. Confused, he looked up to see Naruto's bright blue eyes peering into his intently. Before he could so much as speak, Naruto had melted down through the table. Almost instantly a shadow fell across Kabuto and he received a punishing blow to the head, knocking him out cold. He didn't even struggle before succumbing to unconsciousness.

Naruto turned around, ripped off the door to the cabinet where his scroll lay, knowing he had only moments. As he turned back, scroll in hand, He spotted Kabuto's folder of shorthand notes. Ignoring the Kyuubi's yells to _Get out! Get out now!_ Naruto scooped up the folder just as the door banged open.

Naruto didn't so much as stand from his crouch. As pale fingers reached for him, he melted with the ground below him and was gone.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi slid open his office door, carefully stepping around the drifts of paper piled right beside it. He was negotiating a path back to his desk when he heard a voice that stopped him cold. A voice he hadn't heard in nearly two years. His heart did strange things and he wondered if he was going into cardiac arrest.<p>

"Hey, Sarutobi, why don't you just use this jutsu? I bet these shadow clones could do your paperwork, and then we could see your floor and desk again." It was Naruto, sitting in Sarutobi's chair. He had a huge scroll Sarutobi absently recognized as a Forbidden Scroll propped open in his lap, as casual as anything, with his feet stretched up to rest on a pile of papers that Sarutobi jokingly like to refer to as 'The Second Hokage Monument.'

"Naruto, where's Kushina? I haven't seen either of you in years, now." His voice was weak and he really just wanted to sit down. Naruto looked so _different._

"Huh, I guess we'll have to compare stories. Or how about this," Naruto leaned forward, putting down his legs and the scroll. "You go first and tell me all of the things you never thought to mention before. Start with the snake Sannin, the Kyuubi, and my real parents. Go."

* * *

><p>AN: Okay, I'm back after two months of camp! School is starting soon, and NYComicCon is soon after that, so I'll be busy for a while. (By the way, if you're going to NYCC, look out for a GodTier John Egbert on Friday, a 90's era Superboy on Saturday, and a Loki on Sunday. Say hi to me!) If you got an email earlier is was because I reuploaded Chapter six after changing a little timeline mistake I made. Well... Here's the Chapter nine summary:

1) Kabuto remembers he is NOT Orochimaru-sama's man, but Sasori's. Oops. In addition, Orochimaru instructs Kabuto to get Naruto to make Kushina's body into a puppet. And Naruto got the Mangekeyou.  
>2) Naruto agrees to make Kushina into a puppet for the sake of her memory. He and Sasori are going to have some very heartwarming bonding times.<br>3) Orochimaru's paranoia spirals out of control, as usual.  
>4) Naruto has a trippy dream sequence in which he meets the Kyuubi, the minds of those Orochimaru sent to extract the Kyuubi, a mystery items that will become symbolic later, learns that Kushina really was his mother and the last Kyuubi host, and that they've been doing genetic experiments on him.<br>5) Naruto and the Kyuubi plot their escape and Naruto builds up Kushina into a fighting puppet.  
>6) Kabuto lies to Orochimaru (Yay!) and Orochimaru gives him Zetsu's DNA to give to Naruto.<br>7) Naruto and the Kyuubi prepare for escape.  
>8) Naruto uses his new Zetsu transportation powers to escape, taking with him Kabuto's notes and Kushina's puppet.<br>9) Naruto casually learns the Kage Bunshin jutsu, tells Sarutobi the secret to paperwork, and demands some answers.

Well, that's all for now. As I said, it may be a while until the next update, so stay tuned! Of course, here is usual plea for reviews, so do that, please review, and I'll talk to y'all later. Bye! Pax.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter X

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi took a couple of steps forward. Immediately Naruto's shoulders hunched and he glared at the old man in blatant hostility. Instead of trying to reclaim his chair, Sarutobi sank into one of the uncomfortable seats facing Naruto, dislodging a slithering sheaf of papers as he did so.<p>

He cleared his throat weakly. "Naruto- where? I mean, how-?"

"No questions. And tell your ANBU to stand down, they're making me edgy." Sarutobi did not comply. This boy didn't quite look like Naruto and certainly didn't sound like him. Naruto noticed his hesitation and sighed in impatience. "I can prove it's me. Watch."

Yanking up the hem of his shirt, he revealed the inky-looking seal and tutted. "Guess I'm edgier than I thought. Must be channeling formless chakra. What a waste. Whatever, you'd better start talking, old man. You owe me answers."

"Where's Kushina?" Sarutobi asked quietly. "Naruto, what's happened to her? What's happened to _you_? Did she tell you about that? Your- the seal?"

To Naruto's surprise he found he was choking back a sob. Maybe this was too much. He should have waited to confront Sarutobi. He steeled himself and pushed on. "You've been keeping stuff from me my whole life. Excuse me if I think you could stand to wait a flipping minute before drilling me. Now tell me. My parents, the Snake Sanin, and the Kyuubi."

Sarutobi leaned back wearily in his chair. "You're right, I owe you answers." How he hated himself for how much Naruto hated him right now. "I'll tell you what you want to know. But you're going to have to tell me what's happened to you before you leave. You're so different."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Naruto muttered.

Sarutobi grinned without humor. What a grim little child. He almost preferred the happy, near-idiot Naruto had been not two years ago. Or, perhaps, not quite happy, even then. "I'll start with your father, shall I? You should recognize his name." Naruto's eyes narrowed, but Sarutobi replied before the answer could be demanded of him. "Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage."

For the first time, Naruto didn't look angry. He was _floored._ _Hokage blood? Me? Well what do you know._

"I don't get it," he said finally.

"You have to understand, despite everything, it wasn't hard keeping that a secret. Minato and Kushina's marriage was celebrated, it was thought that their union served only to further strengthen the ties between Uzushio and Konoha, but they loved each other very much, and had for a long time. Kushina's pregnancy was kept in the shadows, out of the public eye. You were supposed to be a triumphant surprise, a new life and gift to Konoha to seal off an era of fighting once and for all and usher in one of peace."

"But my birthday?"

Sarutobi couldn't meet his eye. "The Kyuubi attack. You were the only baby born that day, and it had to be sealed in a baby. Anyway, how could the Hokage ever have asked another family to go through what Kushina did when she played host? It was thought that you would have a good life, at least, raised by your loving parents."

"Sounds positively idyllic. How could it ever go wrong?" Naruto asked drily.

"Well your father- you know about the sacrifice he made, I know you do. Your mother searched for you, but in the chaos after the attack, you were unaccountably overlooked. She left, until two years ago, when she returned to reclaim you." Sarutobi shrugged, slightly helpless. "That's all I know, I'm afraid. I've been getting letters from her for the last two years." He was almost afraid to ask again were she was.

"I still don't get it," Naruto said frankly. "Why was it such a big secret? Seems to me like everyone and their pet lizard Fufu knows I'm a Jinchuriki and, for some reason, blames me for that. Why didn't you ever tell me? Hell, why didn't you ever tell me who my parents were?"

Sarutobi sighed. "I don't know. The time never seemed right. You were happy, I wouldn't have wanted to give you a burden like that."

Naruto waved a hand dismissively. "Excuses. I wasn't happy. I was upset and bullied and abused and it would have been nice if I didn't have to hope, the way every orphan hopes, that my parents were alive and would come and claim me. I mean, I guess my mom was alive, but I still-" he broke off, struggling to keep his voice steady and quiet. If he didn't keep his composure, he was going to make the most unbelievable _scene_. "I still don't know much about her," he said, so quietly Sarutobi almost missed it.

"And anyway," Naruto continued fiercely, aggressively, "Couldn't handle it? I know I was an idiot, but so is Konohamaru and he's just _peachy_ knowing his granddad is Hokage. Why should I have been different?"

"Naruto," Sarutobi tried gently, "Please tell me what's happ-"

"Not yet," Naruto said quickly. "I want to know about the Snake." His expression darkened and Sarutobi was afraid. Not for himself, but of what his negligence may have wrought.

There was a helpless pause. Naruto raise an eyebrow. Finally, Sarutobi broke. "I assume you mean my old student, Orochimaru."

"Tell me about him," Naruto said immediately.

"He was an orphan. At first I thought his loneliness was what led him to distance himself from others. Eventually, I came to see that he had no desire to understand others, that he thought friendship and dependence made one weak. That one should put oneself first and foremost, always." He faltered. Naruto was nodding slowly. _What was going on?_

"Despite this, I thought he was loyal. It was only once I found that he was preforming illegal human experiments that I realized I had let things go too far. I banished him, shut down his labs, flushed out his agents. I think it was hard on his old teammates to see me do it. The three of them never really got along, but they had grown up together, regardless." He paused. While he was telling Naruto Everything-He'd-Never-Told-Him, should he get on with it and tell the boy about his godfather? One more person who had disappointed him? No, next time, he decided quickly, and hated himself more for the relief he felt in putting it off. Coward.

"Naruto?" The boy was pale and shaking. In fact he looked about ready to vomit. He raised a hand to his mouth and swallowed hard.

"Naruto." Sarutobi was so beyond worried his pulse was skipping erratically. "Tell me what happened to you."

"It was Orochimaru, I think," he mumbled. He still looked ill, unstable. "He must have captured my mother a long time ago. I don't know what he was preparing me for, but I did steal some notes from one of his men before I left. I haven't looked at them. What I do know is that at first it was good. I was being fed and clothed and trained. His man, Kabuto, told me I was part of some sort of program to help me become a better shinobi. I was so-" he swallowed thickly, voice hoarse, "So goddamn _desperate_ for help and decent treatment or whatever that I just went with it. Mizuki took me to him, I remember. Right after I failed the genin exam."

Sarutobi tried to reach out to him, but Naruto shook his head, indicating that if he stopped talking, he wouldn't be able to start again.

"Kabuto trained me. In a way, I learned a lot. Kushina taught me too. I learned puppetry and puppet-crafting, sealing, and a whole bunch of basic jutsu and fighting techniques. A little Genjutsu, but not enough to matter. But Kabuto must have been lying to me the entire time. I never saw Orochimaru, and Kabuto referred only to 'his master'. " Naruto stopped again, and it was a whole minute before he continued, his voice having acquired a curious, dead quality, as if he was forcing himself to say the words without thinking about them.

"I began to notice blanks in my memories, things about me changing. I was smarter, I was reading more, I was more motivated, stronger, faster, sleeping less. I welcomed the changes, thought they made me better. Eventually I grew suspicious. I was smart enough to notice things that didn't add up, levels of isolation and security that didn't really make sense. And then- I met him. The fox."

Sarutobi stifled his surprise. He briefly wondered if Kushina had ever had a connection like that to the Kyuubi. "He clued me in. Kushina was my mother and Orochimaru was- was performing genetic experiments on me. He told me a lot, and even helped me to escape." Naruto stopped, seeming to listen to something. "He says I should tell you that Kabuto's not an enemy," Naruto said slowly. He shook his head, annoyed. "Well, whatever he thinks, I don't know if I trust Kabuto. I don't think he was trying to hurt me, or how much he knew about the experiments, but he helped keep me prisoner. But I guess, well, I guess it can't be his fault my mother's dead."

Sarutobi was in equal measures horrified and intrigued. He had assumed the worst when Naruto had turned up sans-Kushina, but the blow was a heavy one. He pulled together a professional façade though, for the boy's sake. "I think you should get checked out in the medical bay before you leave, Naruto," he said gently, tactfully.

Naruto reacted violently, leaping up and almost choking even as he shouted, "No!' he promptly sat down, embarrassed, and squeezed his hands between his legs. "No." he said softly. "No more tests, no more experiments." He removed a pair of goggles from his forehead, regarding them with uncertainty before tossing them off to be lost, possibly forever, behind a drift of documents pending endorsement. Sarutobi inhaled sharply.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Your eyes…."

"Don't tell me," Naruto groaned, "They're sky-blue pink with neon highlights or something, aren't they? I don't think I even care at this point."

"Well your right eye is normal, but your left eye, well, it looks like a Rinnegan was superimposed on it. Black rings and a tinted sclera, but still a blue iris and black pupil."

Naruto stared at him. "You know, a mirror would have been much quicker," he observed.

Sarutobi could have cried with happiness. He would accept even snark from this boy, as long as it wasn't abject desolation. He made a mental note to take a look at those goggles, though.

Naruto was stretching, hands above his head, sinking back into the chair, his air seemingly having returned to casual. "As nice as it would be to return to my crappy apartment, see how much of it is still standing, and take a nap, I'm disinclined to leave without getting a few little issues sorted."

_Issues? _

"Issues?"

"Yeah." Naruto yawned lazily. "I'm damned if I'm spending a minute more than I have to confined here. 'Here' also encompassing the walls of Konoha. I've spent too much time here and in places I couldn't escape, especially lately."

"Where are you going with this?" Sarutobi asked cautiously.

"I want to be made a ninja of Konoha and be allowed to travel. I want real missions and your personal permission." Naruto demanded.

"I can't do that," Sarutobi said flatly. Naruto opened his mouth angrily, but Sarutobi held up a hand for silence. "Hear me out. You just went through a massive ordeal, which I doubt you've dealt with yet. I have no way of knowing what you've been taught, or how stable you are in any way. Call it ironic that I should stop neglecting you now. I deserve your scorn, but I'm going to try and make up for it. I'll respect that you don't want to be monitored or studied, but I insist you compromise on your wishes. At least stay until after the Chunin exams this year. Take part. Whether you pass or not, I swear I will let you leave with my full permission. If you leave now before I've impressed on you the measures you'll need to go to in order to protect yourself as a Jinchuriki, I will send a retrieval squad, mark my words. In the meantime, you will attend the academy, take your genin exam, and be assigned to a team. Whatever you have been taught and whatever you can do now, you're as much an unknown quantity to yourself as you are to us. You need to be trained and, I'd imagine, reintroduced to people your own age."

"More like introduced rather than reintroduced," Naruto muttered sulkily. He hated to admit it, but all of that made sense. It made him want to rage and scream and behave generally like a small child, but he reined it in. There were more constructive uses for aggression like that. He would store it for later, tuck it into a dark part of himself that he knew he was going to have to face eventually.

Naruto sighed gustily. "Do I have to pay attention in class?" He asked obnoxiously. He didn't have to be_ polite_.

"I can't stop you if you don't, but I'd focus on making friends anyway, if I were you."

"Ouch, shot through the _heart_."

"A hit, a very palpable hit," Sarutobi smiled back. He hesitated. "Do you need a place to stay?"

"Nah," Naruto said flippantly, getting up to leave. "I'm sure no one's moved into my apartment since I left. Who would want it?" He fixed Sarutobi with a not-quite-matching blue stare. "We still have more to talk about," he acknowledged. "I think we both just set a couple bridges ablaze, and I'm not too much a of a brat to admit it. I'm just so tired. If it's alright, I'm going to take the rest of the week off. I'll report to the academy on Monday."

Sarutobi nodded, watched as Naruto vanished. No smoke, no log, no seals. Maybe he hadn't given Naruto enough credit. Creakily, he moved around his desk, beckoning a few ANBU agents down from the rafters. He need to check up on Mizuki, see where Orochimaru had gotten to; it had been a mistake not keep track of his student after his exile. Better drop Jiraiya a line, too. And take a look at those goggles. There was so much to do, and he was struck with an all-encompassing weariness. Naruto had almost certainly not told him everything, but how could he in any way fault the boy for that?

* * *

><p>Naruto tried to relax during the next week. He re-familiarized himself with Konoha, mentally mapping out the city as he travelled and re-establishing routes across buildings and through alleys that he wouldn't have attempted previously. As little as he wanted to, he found that the familiar setting really was relaxing. He trained every day, but found the routines he had become accustomed to peculiarly difficult without a second party to participate. He visited Ichiraku's for the hell of it, and was welcomed with glad cries and hugs from his old friends. And ramen, of course. They exclaimed over his mismatched eyes, but when he told them that it was a subject he'd rather avoid, they pressed him no further, and simply chattered, filling him in on the gossip he had missed in his absence.<p>

He let their words wash through him and felt himself relax even further, so that, when he returned to his apartment that night, he felt comfortable enough doing something he had been putting off.

His apartment itself had been in a sorry state when he had returned to it, but after a few temporary seals and a genjutsu on the door, he felt safe enough to refurbish it with what money Sarutobi had seen fit to put in his account. He had gotten some interesting looks from the shopkeepers he had trusted enough to visit, but another genjutsu took care of that. He didn't want news of his reappearance to clog the rumor mill, after all.

Anyway, that night, after he had settled down in bed, he retreated into his own mind-space to talk to the Kyuubi.

Once he was sprawled comfortably in front of the fox's cage, unrolling the cuffs of his pants that he had, with great foresight, thought to raise, he spoke.

"I have to say, I didn't really think through how my homecoming was going to go."

The Kyuubi chuckled deeply. "Not necessarily a bad thing. No expectations sometimes means no disappointment, and you seem extraordinarily at ease already."

"Yeah, I've gotta say, I think I'll take what the old man said to heart and try to make friends. Some of the kids here might be little shits, but it's not their fault, right?"

"Keep this up and your reputation is going to improve in many people's eyes, I warn you," the Kyuubi joked.

"I should be so lucky to earn the approval of a bunch of people I don't really care about," Naruto said, rolling his eyes.

The Kyuubi was quiet. Then, "Will you tell your new teammates about me?" he asked.

Naruto shrugged, a lazy roll of the shoulders. "Who knows. I don't see why not."

"While I applaud your trust, I would still be careful. There are those in the city and out who would seek to capture or control you to access my power. It would be best if you let me train you in using it so you can fight back when you have to."

Naruto lowered his head, looking up at the great fox, who was oozing sincerity. "Wouldn't that give you more influence over me?" He asked silkily.

"Yes. It would. But I respect you too much to take advantage of that."

_So you say._

Naruto stood, suddenly restless. He turned, looking around the great room. It was just as he remembered it, with the great brass bars, the thin white specters cowering and whispering in the corner, and the great object covered in a sheet. He set off with determined aimlessness toward the long, white, ghostly crowd. They fluttered, agitated as he drew nearer. At first one by one, and then in a rush they drifted away from him, toward the other side of the room, the side closest to the bulking, covered object. Naruto stopped, annoyed.

"Why'd they do that?"

"Maybe you smell funny," the Kyuubi suggested, a note of mild derision underlying the words.

"Maybe your face," Naruto muttered, loudly enough so the Kyuubi's ears would pick up the words.

He approached the object under the sheet, ignoring the Kyuubi's mutter of "That doesn't even make sense," and the gibberings of the whitish group.

He grabbed the sheet and pulled it back, allowing it to slide heavily over the contours of the object and half-pool at his feet.

It was a massive armchair, standing at more than twice his height, and included were a few shallow steps leading up to it. He allowed his eyes to play over it in confused fascination.

The seat, arms, and back seemed to be made of baked, blackish clay, although half of it was papered with the tattered remnants of what he recognized as twelve years'-worth of flyers, advertising the Kyuubi festival. There were patches of blue-gray scales here and there and it was, bizarrely, studded with- Naruto's skin crawled- heavy-lidded eyes, some black and red, some pale lilac with black rings. As he looked closer, he picked out bloodied signs scratched into the back. Not just any signs, either, Jashinist signs. He remembered them from the research he had done. The cushion that rested on the seat, slightly below his eye-level, was woven of coarse black threads. And there were four wooden mannequin arms, the hands and fingers splayed on the floor, supporting the entire monstrosity.

Propped on the seat was a neatly painted white sign. It read 'Nom Dominus, Monstrum," and Naruto had a sneaking suspicion he knew what that meant.

Dazed, he muttered, "'For master, a monster.'"

The Kyuubi craned his neck, frowning, an unusual sight, involving an uncomfortable number of teeth. "Well, that can't be good."

* * *

><p>By the time Monday came around, Naruto was almost looking forward to a little enforced structure in his days. He craved human contact, and was dissatisfied with simply the impersonal treatment of shopkeepers, and even the constantly distracted attention of Ichiraku. He had not been to see Sarutobi again. He hated to admit it to himself, but he was avoiding him.<p>

He woke up bright and early and managed to slip into the academy before most of the overachievers grouped outside noticed him. He had forgone his genjutsu, but he would like to pretend he wasn't quite awake yet and enjoy the sleepy peace.

He slid into a seat in the front row by a dark-haired kid who was staring out of the window and let his mind wander as the classroom filled up. After a few minutes, Iruka arrived, but was too busy setting up to call for order yet. The noise level was steadily building in the room as Naruto finally turned his head to contemplate the kid next to him. Interesting that the boy had not said something by then. Surely he had noticed that a kid who had never been in the class before had chosen to sit by him. Weird. And a little standoffish, but maybe he was just sleepy.

"Hey," Naruto said.

The kid made a noise in his throat.

Naruto leaned forward to look past the boy, out of the window. "Anything interesting?" he joked half-heartedly.

"Yeah, there's a goddamn troupe of bikini models traipsing past," the kid said, turning to stare intently at Naruto. "Of course there's nothing interesting. Do I know you?"

Naruto stuck out a hand, "Naruto Uzumaki, and you are?"

"Sasuke Uchiha," the kid said, shaking his hand perfunctorily. He turned to stare out of the window again. Once more, Naruto looked past him.

"You're thinking about bikini models now, aren't you," Naruto asked after a moment.

"Yuuuup."

"What a kindred soul." Sasuke shot Naruto an amused look.

"Are you new here?"

"Kind of," Naruto said. "More like recently returned."

"Hm," Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes in thought. "Uzumaki sounds familiar. I think my mother used to mention that name. Sure we've never met?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess it's _possible_."

At this juncture, however, they were interrupted by a pink-haired _someone_. She loomed over Naruto, who leaned back in his seat, contriving to look decidedly unimpressed, which he was.

The girl scrutinized him. "Let me guess, new kid?" she asked pointedly.

"Who wants to know?"

"Sakura Haruno. That's my seat you're sitting in."

"Lay off, Sakura," Sasuke muttered. The girl raised her eyebrows.

"As you wish, oh lord and savior," she demurred, addressing herself to Sasuke. Rolling her eyes, she plopped down next to Naruto.

"So, new kid, got a name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki." They shook hands.

"Hey, doesn't Naruto mean-"

"I know what it freaking means," he growled.

"Well okee dokee, just thought someone ought to inform you." Sasuke sniggered. Naruto traced Sakura's glance to Sasuke, who was staring out of the window again. The dots connected.

"Oh. Oh! You have a crush on him, I get it." To his confusion, Sasuke huddled away from him, closer to the window, exuding acute embarrassment from every pore while Sakura's face did something Naruto couldn't quite identify. "What?"

Sakura explained, which just seemed to make Sasuke even surlier and more thoroughly engrossed in whatever the window had to offer. "A lot of people have some sort of celebrity-type crush on Sasuke. Because he's so pretty, see." Sasuke made a low growling noise.

"So, what, you're above all that?"

"No, my life's mission is just to go about it a different way. By not trying at all. Which is actually really fun. In fact, we're almost friends, aren't we, Sasuke?"

"Almost isn't definitely," he growled.

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "You're much more open about this than I would have expected."

"Yeah, well, I've got nothing to hide. Unlike you. Were you aware your eyes don't match? Why is that?"

Sasuke looked around in interest, probably feeling safe now that the topic had shifted away from him.

Naruto waved a hand airily. "I just like pissing off people with OCD."

"Rude," Sakura smirked. "No really, why don't they match?"

"It's a long story that I'd rather not tell," Naruto said, suddenly tense. "It involves a lot of trauma I'm quite content to repress."

"I feel you," Sasuke said. Naruto looked at him blankly until Sasuke took pity on him. "Uchiha," he reminded him.

Naruto's eyes went round. "Oh man, I didn't remember."

"Hey," Sakura said, waving a hand, "If we're going to have a pity party, I'm bringing balloons."

Sasuke smirked, which seemed to be what he did instead of smiling, and Naruto gave a snort of laughter. "I like the new kid," Sakura said. "He laughs at my jokes. He should be almost-friends with us, huh, Sasuke."

"Not like the standards are astronomically high, no offence," Sasuke admitted.

"I don't know, seems like a pretty exclusive thing you guys have going to me," Naruto shot back.

* * *

><p>Orochimaru was throwing a tantrum. Or at least, that seemed like the most accurate description to Kabuto. He practically wrung his hands in anguish as Orochimaru screamed abuse and swept months of notes onto the floor.<p>

The worst part wasn't even that Kabuto didn't deserve the abuse, or even that he knew he was going to have to clean and reorganize this mess later. The worst part was that he had seen this coming and had tried to hide and sulk where Orochimaru couldn't find and vent at him, in the same way a storm petrel will fly as fast as possible in the opposite direction of an oncoming storm.

_And really,_ Kabuto thought, _I have almost as much right to be angry as he does. I actually _liked_ Naruto. So, I suppose I should be happy he escaped. But really. Life will almost be worse for both of us now that Orochimaru-sama will be on his tail. _He sighed unhappily. _I am not paid nearly enough for this._

Orochimaru was in the middle of snarling at Kabuto for his treachery and incompetence or some such thing when Kabuto's patience came to an abrupt end. First of all, he didn't have to take this. Orochimaru needed him. Second of all, he _couldn't_ take another second of this. There wasn't even any Kushina for him to verbally work his frustration out on, anymore. So he did the only thing that made sense. He held his glasses to the bridge of his nose with one finger and coughed politely into his other hand.

"Would you like to make some editorial?" Orochimaru hissed. _Hissed!_

"Just that if you're prepared to pursue this vein for much longer, I'm going to have to make my excuses," Kabuto said frostily. "I think my energies would be better spent trying to track down our wayward charge."

"Don't be naïve," Orochimaru snapped. "He'll have gone back to Konoha, and, no doubt, will have told the Hokage every detail of my plans. Due to _your_-"

As the Sanin's voice began to rise again, Kabuto deftly cut him off. "With all due _respect_," he said contemptuously, "Naruto didn't know very much of your plans. He didn't even know of the abilities that were given to him. I very much doubt his testimony will count for much."

"Oh, you _doubt_," Orochimaru sneered. "That child is much changed since we received him. One mention of my name, or even of questionable labs and experiments, and he'll be whisked away with nauseating efficiency to receive a blood test. And when he doesn't bleed, well, they'll see exactly what I've been doing and he will turn inexorably as a force against me."

"And if we recapture him and you possess him, he will work as a force in our favor," Kabuto said bitingly. The frame and stems of his glasses were beginning to hurt his temples and the bridge of his nose where he still had them jammed angrily.

"Well," Orochimaru said with poisonous intent, "You certainly have a lot of work to do, don't you?"

Kabuto cast a half-angry, half-miserable look around the wrecked lab. "I certainly do," he agreed tightly.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I failed the genin test the first time," Naruto said, playing with his shiny new hitai-ate. He smeared slightly sweaty fingerprints across the neatly etched leaf symbol. It was therapeutic in a way he couldn't explain.<p>

"I can't believe you did all three jutsu without seals and smoke," Sasuke remarked, tying his own hitai-ate around his forehead.

"I can't believe it's not butter," Sakura and Naruto said together. Sakura punched him playfully on the shoulder and he shoved her a little.

"Five years old. You guys are five years old," Sasuke sighed.

"Who am I to let a joke go begging?" Naruto asked. "Anyway, you'll get used to it. We're teammates now!"

Sakura glanced around. "Hey Sasuke, one of your fans is stalking us." Both boys looked around.

"Hey!" Naruto said, surprised, "That's actually one of mine! I'll catch up with you guys later, I haven't seen her since before I left."

"Use a condom," Sakura called after him.

Naruto approached the girl, who was standing half-behind a tree. Little guardian angel. He knew for a fact she wasn't nearly as timid as she pretended.

"Hey, Hinata," he grinned.

"Nice to see you, Naruto. Glad to know there are some people who don't automatically mistake me for one of Sasuke's potential harem."

"Yeah." Damn, he had missed her. They had never had what anyone else would call a proper conversation, but ever since he had taken her place when a bunch of bullies had set on her when she was about five, they had had each other's backs. At least, until kids had realized that attacking a Hyuuga heiress marked high on a list of 'poor life choices.'

"You been gone for some time," she said. A neutral statement. No probing questions. "Your eyes are different. And you're not wearing orange."

"And you're wearing a coat so fluffy you look like a dormouse peeking out of a sock."

"Don't knock it, this is pretty much the softest coat ever." Hinata smiled.

Naruto's face fell. He couldn't do this. "It's great to see you, Hinata," he said quietly. "But the truth is, I'm leaving again after the chunin exams. So-"

"I understand. It's okay. I'm much more comfortable having your back than anything else," she said, just as quietly, and smiling.

"Same here," he said with some relief. "And I promise, if Kiba so much as _tries_ to pee on you to assert dominance, I'll take pictures while you rip him a new one."

"I knew you were good best-friend material," she said.

They stood in silence. Then she offered him a wave and last smile and they parted ways. It didn't really count as a goodbye because most people wouldn't have even called it a conversation.

'She has a strong sense of an alpha, as always,' the Kyuubi remarked. 'Or whatever your human equivalent is. A leader and a unifying force.'

* * *

><p>The next day involved a lot of waiting. Waiting for sensei assignments, waiting for room assignments, and then team seven waiting for their sensei to actually show up. Naruto pulled out a pen and paper just to have something to distract himself.<p>

He was doodling seal designs and making notes in and idle way when Sasuke and Sakura noticed. Predictably, Sakura clamored to be taught what Naruto knew while Sasuke looked on more quietly. Naruto became very passionate, achieving an eloquence that had Sasuke making amused faces.

Naruto walked them through a seal that required a combination of circumstances to activate, one he had come up with himself. Sasuke suggest he demonstrate it, so Naruto promptly altered it again, storing a chalky board-eraser in it and sketching it in such a way that it would be activated and released by a combination of movement and body heat. He demonstrated that neither would work independently, before sticking it to the wall by the door. By then, both of his teammates were suitably impressed.

It only added to the display when their sensei arrived with perfect timing. In opening the door and sticking his head around it, he provided both movement and heat and received a face full of chalk dust.

All three of them froze. Not, perhaps, the best first impression.

Kakashi turned his head to study the seal, altered now it had been activated. He turned back to look at the pen in Naruto's hand.

"Well, I can tell you three are going to be a bundle of joy," he muttered. "Meet me up on the roof and we'll have a round of introductions." He vanished.

Sakura pushed Naruto's shoulder. "You're in _trouble_," she whispered loudly.

* * *

><p>"You said it," Naruto concurred.<p>

Up on the roof the newly appointed genin settled themselves nervously, all rather impressed at how their sensei was able to convey a sense of 'reclining' while perched precariously on a railing.

"So what, is this a meet-and-greet type thing? Hi, I'm Naruto, and I'm an alcoholic? How does this work?" He needed to stop talking.

Their sensei shrugged. He was a curious-looking man, keeping almost his whole face hidden. The way he slouched, it seemed as though gravity had a particularly strong hold over him, except for an electrified-looking shock of silvery hair. "I suppose we should start with the basics. Likes, dislikes, hobbies, goals, go nuts."

"Why don't you go first?" Sakura asked quickly. It was as if she could hear Naruto and Sasuke both preparing to call dibs on going last.

"Suits me fine. I'm Kakashi. I like, well, I guess I dislike…. Hm, I guess I've got some hobbies…. Goals? I'll get there when I get there." He shrugged. "Your turn, girl."

"Well that was informative," Naruto muttered.

Kakashi's mask moved in a way that seemed to indicate a beguiling smile. "If I play it close to the vest, you guys are going to keep coming back for more, right?"

"Absolutely," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I'm Sakura. I like reading and dislike geometry. Seriously, who likes geometry?"

Sasuke raised his hand with an injured expression. "Really?" Sakura asked.

"Nah, just kidding."

Sakura closed her eyes as if willing for patience. "Hobbies include hauling unbelievable numbers of books back and forth from the Library to my house and getting on my mother's nerves. Goals? Well, I don't know, to be honest. I'm twelve years old."

Kakashi rewarded her with a slow clap. "You're up, Uchiha."

"Sasuke. I like having time alone to think. I dislike when people interrupt me. Hobbies include training, yeah I know, so original, a shinobi who likes to train, that's never been done before. And, I don't know, flower arranging. Don't look at me like that, it was a joke. I'm indulging my poor withered sense of humor, don't judge me."

They waited for him to continue. When he didn't, Kakashi stage whispered, "_Goals?_"

"Whoops, yeah. To avenge my family? I don't know, I never got the impression most of them deserved avenging. To find my brother and ask him why he did what he did? Yeah, okay, let's go with that."

"Wow, Sasuke, I've never heard you talk that much at once," Sakura said with wonder. "Don't hurt yourself."

"I've used up my quota of words for the next three days. Until then, you're not going to hear a peep out of me," he said seriously.

"Cool, my turn," Naruto said before Kakashi could prompt him.

"Eager much," their sensei muttered.

"If I play it too close to the vest, you might get bored," Naruto sassed.

"Watch it."

"Yessir. Of course, sir. Kiss my ass, sir," Naruto said. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but seemed as if he might be smiling again.

"Okay. I'm Naruto. Likes?" He looked at Sasuke and Sakura. "People, I guess. Dislikes-" his face darkened so suddenly it took the other three quite by surprise. "People," he muttered.

"Wait, but-"

"Trust me, I mean it. Hobbies, I guess sealing and puppetry. There's a lot of design involved in those. Goals? I guess to kill the guy who did this to my eyes." Naruto's voice was light, but the other three didn't miss the gravity of the words. He meant them, and what was more, he was prepared to follow up on them.

Kakashi told them to meet him the next morning in his preferred clearing, giving the customary, 'don't eat breakfast,' warning. Curiouser and curiouser. He had been told that his group would include the daughter of a civilian council member, one of the last Uchihas, and the son of his old mentor. Looked like if they survived the next day, they were going to make a hell of a team.

* * *

><p>AN: (Author's Note to be added later.) EDIT: Added!

Hello my lovlies! It's been a very long and eventful time since last we spoke. For once I am writing the author note to a chapter with the benefit of having seen some of your reviews already. Thank you to the support from those who appreciated this update after I'd pretty much given up on the fandom. It's for you guys that I hope to continue. I tried to reply to all of the reviews, even those that frankly were blatant bullying. Without further ado, the long-awaited

Chapter Summary:

1) Sarutobi and Naruto have the first of many altercations. Accusations are leveled, voices raised, and blood boils. And paperwork breeds like bunnies.  
>2) Naruto and the Kyuubi talk and Naruto comes face-to-face with a very imposing PLOT DEVICE. It's important. I'm proud of it. Leave me alone.<br>3) Naruto goes back to school like a good little urban orphan. He meets a couple of familiar characters with a few unfamiliar traits. Is there a reason for this? Of course! Did I make that reason up right now? Not saying! I will, however, refer you, dear reader, to the summary of this story in which I describe Akatsuki's moral alignment.  
>4) Orochimaru has a tantrum and Kabuto suffers.<br>5) Our plucky adventurers become genin off-screen, as it were. You all know how that goes down. Well, minus Mizuki, that is. Yet another lovely face appears, as Hinata is introduced. Turns out I broship her and Naruto. Just bros. They are twelve. They have each other's backs and that's good enough. (NorthSouth is disappointed.)  
>6) The kiddies meet their sensei and the trick with the board eraser turns out to be an accident? Who'da thunk?<br>7) The Introductions- in which you see that all little ninjas are made of sugar, spice, and everything sassy.

That's really all there is to it. I won't have a set update schedule, but I will be updating. Yes. Fingers crossed. I love y'all. Stay happy, mean people suck, drop me a line and I'll probably reply. Pax.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter XI

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. But you probably realize that by now.

* * *

><p>It was bright and early in the morning when Naruto jogged up to where Sakura and Sasuke were seated in the grass, chatting quietly to each other as they waited. They had been there for a couple of minutes already, having arrived right on time.<p>

"What's up? You're late," Was Sasuke's first comment.

"Yeah, I know." Naruto sat down quietly. He was restless, fidgety, jittery.

"What's wrong? No wisecrack?" Sakura asked, sensing his discomfort.

"Nothing's wrong with _me_, I'm just a clone. The original will be here soon." The self-proclaimed copy said, neatly dodging her question.

"What's he doing? He's going to be even later," Sasuke pointed out.

"That's why he sent me." The clone replied, "But our dear sensei's track record suggests we'll be in for a much longer wait, anyway."

"So what does Naruto think he's doing?" Sakura persisted, frustrated.

The clone tipped his head back to regard the canopy above them. "Black magic, obviously."

"Cute," Sasuke said. He promptly changed the subject, just in case the clone hadn't been being sarcastic. "So, just how late to you think our erstwhile leader is going to be?"

"Dunno. I hope you two ate breakfast, though, because I don't want to be the only one," Sakura said bluntly. Sasuke nodded and the clone muttered that the original would certainly get around to it, 'Knowing himself, and he did,' apparently.

After a few minutes the clone stood without warning. "See you guys in a second," he said abruptly, and before the other two could give him more than confused glances, he vanished. With barely any smoke, they noticed.

Just then, another Naruto walked up to them. They assumed he was the original, as he took his seat without a word.

"What was that about?" Sasuke asked. "Dramatic effect?"

Naruto shook his head. His eyes looked red and he refused to look at his teammates, instead fixing his gaze on the ground. "Just crying about orphan bullshit feelings," he mumbled.

Not that he was planning to tell his teammates, but said feelings had arrived in his lap in an untidy parcel of raw pain and appropriately teenagerly anguish the night before. He didn't usually remember many of his dreams afterward, but this time he knew that he must have relived killing Kushina because all he could think about when he woke up was her expression, her last words, her pain- it was upsetting, to say the least. He had clawed his way back to consciousness, sweating and shaking, pillow soaked with tears. He knew it was nothing to feel ashamed of- it was a pretty legitimate trauma, after all, he told himself- and yet he still felt mortified and vulnerable in the darkness and relative solitude of his fourth-rate apartment.

He had fallen back asleep quickly, but his dreams were restless and disturbed, waking him in what felt like five-minute intervals, making him feel more tired the longer the night wore on. It was very late indeed when he actually got any rest, and even then he could not be still.

He had woken up in the chamber that housed the Kyuubi. He was lying on the slightly warm stone floor, and he was completely naked. He was not embarrassed, but he felt exposed until he imagined clothes for himself. The Kyuubi slowly stirred, flicking an ear in irritation at the intrusion. The light was low in the chamber, and after muttering in a growling burr that made Naruto's ears hum with the hugeness of the sound- saying that Naruto smelled of fear- the great fox seemed to settle back into sleep. Naruto had hauled himself over to lean against one of the massive brass bars.

He sat there for what felt like a long time, letting his mind drift. When he fell asleep there much later, he woke up slowly in bed. Light was filtering through the room, and he realized he was going to be late. He had sent the clone out as soon as he could, but on his way to join his team, his feet dragged. He desperately wished for distraction from the weird numbness he felt after such a disturbed night.

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts. "Yeah, I get it," Sasuke was saying. Naruto looked at him in surprise. He had forgotten that Sasuke, too, was an orphan. _Again_. Did that make him a bad person?

"Oh man, sorry, I didn't think." Naruto paused awkwardly, wondering if he dared to interrogate the other. "What even happened, when, you know…" He trailed off. He had heard talk of the massacre, of course, but at the time Sarutobi had been so busy dealing with the massive PR scandal it had sparked that he hadn't ever explained the affair to Naruto's satisfaction.

Sasuke laid down in the grass with the air of someone settling in for the long haul. Naruto wondered how many times he had told this story, if he had explained to Sarutobi at the time, if people pestered him about it. "Well, see, my brother was an ANBU at the time," Sasuke began. He tone was light, but his hands were restless, tearing up grass. "I don't know why he did it, but when I came home one day, I saw him standing over my parents' bodies. It was so strange. I remember realizing later that the house must have been so quiet when I walked through because everyone was dead. It was horrible. I had nightmares for months. Blood everywhere. He told me that he had killed them, and that he knew I must hate him." The dark-haired boy began mindlessly shredding the blades, gaze fixed on an event that reached far back into the past. Like he was viewing a private, macabre puppet show that had been performed dozens of times for him to view alone.

"Then he told me to stay in school and finish my education. And not to follow him. Then he left. The people that he hadn't killed, the children and the few adults of my clan that he had just knocked out instead of killing left Konoha. They still write to me a lot, and tell me to go and join them, but I stayed here to finish my schooling like Itachi said. It just seemed important to me at the time, especially when I realized that I actually didn't hate him. Do you think that's weird?"

"Weird?" Naruto said, repressing short laugh, _I accidentally killed my mother while she attacked me and then turned her body into a puppet._ "I think I live in a glass house in that respect."

"I don't know if it's weird, but you've told me the story before and I still think you made the decision you thought was right," Sakura said quietly.

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah," he said, sounding tired and unconvinced. "Heavy stuff for so early in the morning. What about your family, Naruto?"

"My family? Oh, you mean my father, the fourth Hokage?" Naruto grinned tiredly at their expressions.

"_What?_" Sakura and Sasuke exclaimed, both sitting up straighter and staring. "Explain," Sakura demanded, a beat faster than her companion.

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing to explain. Minato Namikaze is, well, was, my father. Bonus, he also sealed the Kyuubi in me. Kind of messed up the seal, but I think I can do something about that down the line." They still looked disbelieving. Naruto smiled beguilingly. It was an effort. "I swear the big guy is just a bundle of fun."

Sakura was shaking her head, looking skeptical, while Sasuke just looked like he wasn't sure how to react. "I find that kind of hard to believe," Sakura muttered.

"Here, I can prove it." Naruto didn't know why he thought it was so important for them to believe him, but, after all, they were his teammates, and with a little luck, his friends, too. He didn't want them to think he was lying. He showed them the seal and Sasuke whistled. _That was foolish_, the Kyuubi growled. Naruto ignored him. It was his decision to make, and he would hash it out with the Kyuubi later.

"Wow, got any other potentially life-altering confessions to make while you're at it?"

"You have no idea," Naruto said darkly. "But for the sake of enigma, I guess I won't unload that on you just now." _Not until I really know what I can do_, he thought.

* * *

><p>Naruto certainly hadn't been the only one to have a rough night. To his acute misery, Kabuto had found himself shaken awake at a positively ungodly hour. The timid flunkey stood by as the boy pulled a robe on over his sleeping clothes, hastily tied his hair back and snatched up his glasses, shoving them onto his face as he was briskly hustled along to his wretched master's study. He was bowed inside and was barely over the threshold when the door what snapped shut behind him.<p>

The first coherent thought Kabuto was aware of forming, suppressing a yawn as he watched Orochimaru riffling feverishly through a drawer of files, was _I do not get paid enough for this_._ There is literally not enough money in this entire operation to justify what I put up with_. His next thought, as Orochimaru faced him, the look of manic enthusiasm on his face giving Kabuto a splitting headache within moments as only Orochimaru-sama's face could, was _I should start a line of inspirational shirts. 'I survived working for Orochimaru! Anything is possible!' That is, assuming I actually _do_ survive this. _

Orochimaru was talking to him. If it was not his job to listen and nod respectfully, he most certainly would have left right then. But he was trained better than that, and he dutifully tuned in.

"Kabuto, I think I've struck on a way to retrieve Naruto," he was saying, his voice low and excited, rasping and hissing with sleep-deprivation.

Kabuto listened dubiously. A genin team? An invasion? Tiredly he posed a couple of obvious questions, just to seem professional, but Orochimaru waved them away, saying they would talk more in the morning.

_So what was the point in waking me up?_ Kabuto fixed his glasses wearily as he trooped back to bed. _I want job satisfaction. And paid vacation time. You bastard._

* * *

><p>Kakashi was almost three hours late. He arrived to the heartwarming sight of three genin slumbering peacefully in the grassy clearing.<p>

He cleared his throat. Loudly. Several times. Accompanied by tactful nudging with his feet. He would not have gone so far as to call the action a kick.

When Naruto finally woke up, he immediately shocked the other two back into consciousness by latching onto his sensei's leg and wailing about how he had _missed_ him and hadn't know what to _do_ with himself while they had been _separated_.

Kakashi, a former ANBU, was reduced to shaking the kid off of his leg and devoutly hoping that the little brat wasn't going to get him into trouble with stuff like that. Devious little jerk.

When all three were standing and reasonably alert, Kakashi outlined their task. The goals, of course, were the two bells he hung at his belt. Only two would pass. The one who failed to receive a bell would be tied to a post, and, to add insult to injury, would not be given any lunch. As he spoke, the silver-haired man placed two bentos by the posts in question. The three genin eyed them, although he supposed they had probably had breakfast hours ago. No one ever followed that rule.

Seeing he had their attention, he laid out the final pieces, a clock and some information. The task would end at noon, in one hour. Any success would have to be accomplished in that time frame to matter, and only successful children would be officially recognized as genin. All three looked like they were going to protest, but he distracted them by telling them to come at him with the intent to kill. He had wondered if he shouldn't leave that part out. But then again, he wasn't going to die from a couple of would-be genin, no matter how glowing their references.

"Ready?" he asked. They nodded. "Alright. Start whenever." He promptly pulled out a book and lost interest.

"Group meeting," Sakura whispered, grabbing her teammates by the wrists and running with them to the trees.

Kakashi made no move to stop them, but he was getting kind of weirded out twenty minutes later when they still hadn't appeared. There had been an awful lot of rustling going on in the trees, but nothing much else. At least they hadn't all run off in different directions or attacked head-on. He was almost disappointed when Sakura emerged from the bushes alone. He heard her mutter sarcastically, "Well, I still think this is stupid, but if darling _Sasuke_ says it could work I guess we're gonna go ahead and _pander_ like it's our _job_, aren't we?"

He regarded her skeptically over his book. "Aren't you going to try to attack? You guys are wasting time," he said critically.

"Actually, I'm supposed to ask you very nicely for the bells. So. May I have the bells pretty please with sugar on top?" She smiled widely and insincerely.

"Points for originality. Sure. Here you go." Unable to believe it, Sakura put out a hand, glancing at Kakashi' exposed eye as she did so.

He smiled and dropped the bells straight through her hand. They burned her skin and she screamed as the hot metal melted through bone and tendon and all but dribbled down onto the ground in a spray of her own blood. Kneeling on the ground and cradling her hand, her head thrummed with pain as she tried to remember what Naruto had told her, what she had read, anything-

"Stop that," came a voice. Sasuke had appeared beside his sensei and he looked angry. He reached for the perfectly intact bells, which had never moved from Kakashi's belt, and the silver-haired man slapped down his hand and kicked him in the stomach so brutally that Sasuke was knocked back, struggling for breath. He barely heard the Uchiha wheeze, "Now," before Sakura was moving, having shaken off his genjutsu.

She threw something at Kakashi's feet, but the projectile went wide. Kakashi moved anyway, suspecting a wire, performing a move his colleagues called 'cheating a jump,' Shunshin'ing several feet into the air to allow time for the wire to pass under him as he fell. To his surprise, the projectile came whistling back around his other side, definitely not a kunai or a shuriken, then, and tangling his feet in something that certainly wasn't wire. He shunshined again, stowing his book as he landed behind the Uchiha. Finally, it was getting interesting.

He was almost disappointed when the kid twisted around and lobbed a fireball at him. Must have gotten his breath back, but still, not very smooth. He dodged, and saw that Sasuke had stood up, and beyond him, so had Sakura.

"Where's the other one?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke looked regretful. "We were trying to go for style points, but I guess we'll have to call in the last resort," he said.

Kakashi cocked his head. Code? The statement seemed slightly random. Probably a signal of some sort. What were they up to?

A very conspicuous amount of nothing happened.

Sakura glared toward the treetops. "You had one job," she growled.

Kakashi heard a sort of panicked frisson of rustling all around the clearing. Nice effect.

Somehow he was totally unprepared for the sheer _wave_ of shinobi that bore down on him in the next moment, all yelling and flailing like a most effective distraction. He stood his ground. Genin-level clones were harmless.

He hastily revised his opinion when the first one reached him and punched him in the face. _Solid. Those are definitely solid. Not normal clones, then. _He was further impressed when he lashed out and his fist went right through the nearest one. _So some of them _are_ normal clones, at least. Nice strategy. Now I don't know which ones to ignore and which to try to dispel._

Then the crush really tightened around him, and he ended up focusing on dodging and blocking what he could. He felt something brush his hip, but all of the nearest clones were tugging at his clothes, trying to catch him off balance enough to push him down. He itched to really blast himself a path or burrow under ground, or implement one of any number of escape plans he had at his disposal, but told himself strictly that that was not the point of the challenge.

Suddenly, they all stopped, stepping back to mill around him, grinning, before vanishing one by one. No smoke, either. Very neat.

He turned until he could see his team. Sakura and Sasuke were each holding a bell. They were both looking over Naruto's shoulders, however, as he was holding-

Kakashi's hand flew to his kunai pouch. _Sneaky brats. How did they even do that? I must be losing my touch._

"I'm impressed," he said, drawing their attention. "Depending on what you can tell me about your planning process you guys will definitely-"

"Do you really read this garbage?" Sakura interrupted, indicating the book.

"Yes, no," Kakashi floundered. "Give it back."

"Well which is it, yes or no?" Sasuke asked. None of them moved.

"Uh, no? Not really, it's more of a method of ensuring that people don't try to talk to me in public," Kakashi admitted.

"Hm," Naruto said, closing the book and tossing it back. "Well that's kind of controversial, but whatever, I guess it probably works. Anyway," he grinned, "Do we pass?"

Kakashi caught the book, indicating that they should all sit down. "Well I don't know yet. Tell me what you did."

Naruto sprawled in the grass. "Sasuke thought we should just ask nicely."

"I was kidding!" He said indignantly.

"Were not," Sakura muttered.

"Right, I seem to recall that was the first part of your strategy," Kakashi said. "For the record, Sasuke, that was a really dumb plan. Creative, but really dumb. So what did you do after I slapped that genjutsu on you?" he asked, turning to Sakura as Sasuke sulked. In response she pulled out a curved silvery weapon.

"A boomerang?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, it started out as a joke, a friend of mine gave it to me when she said I would only ever be a guy's rebound girl."

"Sounds like a good friend," Naruto growled.

"Well we're on better terms now," Sakura admitted. "Anyway, I got pretty good at using these, so Sasuke suggested I wire it and use it to trap you. Naruto thought it would be better if I used chakra strings instead of wires."

"And you can do that?" Kakashi asked, impressed.

"Her control is good enough, but there wasn't a lot of time so I made her a shortcut," Naruto admitted. Sakura held up the boomerang and her right hand. There was a seal drawn on each, and Naruto explained that she only had to channel chakra into the seals before throwing the weapon to create a crude chakra string connecting them. She couldn't control the string itself, but as long as she maintained it, it was about as effective as a wire and much less visible. Kakashi studied the seals. They were a little rushed, but he had never seen these before. Maybe something similar, but he wouldn't even swear to that.

"You just made these up?" he asked incredulously, staring at Naruto.

"Yeah, a few weeks ago. It's the prototype of an idea I've been toying with," Naruto said. Kakashi resisted the urge to whistle. That was damn impressive for a genin.

"And the clones?"

"I saw Naruto practicing them a while ago. It seemed like a safe backup plan," Sasuke said. "I think he mixes normal clones with shadow clones?" He looked at Naruto for conformation.

"You know, of course, that Kage Bunshin is a forbidden jutsu," Kakashi said gravely, still looking at Naruto. "Pretty solid plan, but dangerous. How many did you make?"

"Don't worry, I didn't make nearly the number I know I'm capable of," Naruto said lightly. "And the Hokage knows I learned it and he owes me, anyway." He exchanged a look with Kakashi. Naruto wasn't sure how much about him his sensei knew, but the look told him that Kakashi was going to be doing some digging. Oh well.

"So do we pass?" Sakura asked, easing the tension.

"For the first time ever, I'm going to have to say yes," Kakashi said. "No one else has worked together like you three did during this test. Congratulations. I guess I ought to start you off on D-rank missions. Let's say, three a week? We can discuss a training schedule when we meet tomorrow at the Hokage Tower to pick up a mission assignment."

"What time?" Sasuke asked prudently.

"Eight o'clock am."

"So eleven o'clock," Sasuke grumbled, annoyed.

"Nope, eight o'clock, bright and early," Kakashi beamed.

"Yeah, right. Can we eat those bentos, now?" Naruto asked before Sasuke could start sulking.

"Oh, I guess so."

They met up bright and early at the Hokage Tower the next morning at eleven o'clock. Kakashi arrived at twelve and they all entered together.

* * *

><p>Naruto visited the Kyuubi fairly often after he had been given a dressing-down for telling Sasuke and Sakura about the seal. That was the first time the fox had ever seemed agitated. Naruto had asked why he cared so much.<p>

"May I remind you," the Kyuubi said, his tails lashing as he paced behind the bars, "that though you are under the Hokage's protection at the moment, those you escaped from poured several years of work into training and improving you. If you honestly think that you can relax and play shinobi, then I seriously misjudged your good sense."

"But what difference does that make to you?" Naruto snapped resentfully. He hated being talked down to like this.

"You die, I die, remember?"

"But it's not like they'd catch me just to kill me, right? That makes no sense."

"To you maybe not, but even if they possess you or send more people like them," The Kyuubi jerked his head toward the cowering wraiths, whose whispering voices rose hysterically as he did so, "They'll either try to kill me, draw me out, or use me. I'd much prefer to volunteer my power. Less painful."

"And you're prepared to volunteer your power and Youki to me, I suppose," Naruto said angrily. "You haven't been especially forthright in that respect since our first little talk."

"Of course. You are my vessel by rightful contract. As soon as you get this infernal seal sorted out we can discuss the best way to begin." The Kyuubi said shortly. "And, of course, I will do my best to help you sort out what those people did to you. It would be a waste to ignore the power the Snake Sannin granted you, especially when it could mean the difference between your recapture by them and your continued freedom."

Naruto tapped his fingers tensely against the side of his leg. His eyes began straying toward the monstrous construct of a chair that still sat off to one side of the chamber, but caught himself before he had to look at it.

He breathed out shakily. "It's alright to be afraid," the Kyuubi said, lying down behind the massive bars.

Naruto looked up, surprised. The great fox's voice was low and almost understanding. "I wouldn't have expected to hear you say that," Naruto said quietly. "You have nothing to fear."

"I fear death and slavery," the Kyuubi said baldly. "And I fear for you. Your spirit has been beaten down so many times that I wonder why you still continue. You are much stronger than anyone realizes, Uzumaki."

"That's oddly sentimental," Naruto said warily.

"I had a family once. I haven't seen any of them for many years, but living near humans has not, in fact, voided me of sentiment," the Kyuubi said mildly. "Quite the opposite, in fact. You see more sincere emotion in battle and mourning than anywhere else."

Naruto nodded. He felt numb, hollow, and so, so tired. He rubbed his eyes, taking a moment, and when he spoke, his voice was steady. "I'll begin working on the seal as soon as I can. I'll consult with you about it, too, but I think I should ask Sarutobi about the- other things. I'll go over the notes we stole with him and maybe ask for someone to be present, hopefully someone with some idea of what to look for."

"Have you looked at the notes yourself?" The Kyuubi asked.

"Yeah, but even aside from the parts I don't really understand, there are parts I haven't been able to make myself try to understand."

"Get someone competent to go over them with you."

"I guess that's the best we can do," Naruto said dully. He was about to depart when he remembered what he had come here to discuss. "Do you really care if I tell people about you?"

The Kyuubi's tails waved slowly in the dusty air. "I suppose it's your decision, ultimately," he said meditatively. "Just use your discretion. Keep in mind that almost all of the people you associate with lie for a living and that you don't owe anyone an explanation for your parentage, anything that's been done to you, or anything you can do. Just realize that you yourself cannot hide from those things forever."

Naruto nodded briefly, head heavy with things he'd rather not think about.

* * *

><p>Kabuto reached for his coffee, draining it as the door was softly opened. He knew the sound of those footsteps anywhere. He cast weary eyes up at Orochimaru, even as he shuffled the papers before him. "How is your assignment progressing?" Orochimaru asked with a note of cheer in his voice that Kabuto couldn't share.<p>

Kabuto leaned back in his chair. "To be honest, not well. Your genin team sounds excellent in theory, Orochimaru-sama, but the pool of genin you are pulling from is… less than satisfactory."

Orochimaru's silky smile narrowed considerably. "In what way? I was under the impression that all genin in my village are well suited for this type of an insurgence."

Kabuto shrugged, a gesture so flippant that he would not have attempted it in the days when his master still scared him. "To put it one way, all of these candidates would be more than willing to attack Konoha. Very few of them could actually make enough progress during the Chunin exams to keep suspicions low and follow through with the mission."

"Speak plainly, Kabuto," Orochimaru snapped.

Kabuto sat up, pushing up his glasses and running a hand through his bangs in a familiar gesture. "Almost all of these kids are crazy, Orochimaru-sama," he said.

"Meaning?"

"They're powerful enough in their own rights, but they are not focused and they are not trained."

"There are several months before the next Konoha-hosted Chunin Exams," Orochimaru said through gritted teeth. "I trust you know what needs doing." He swept out, clapping the door shut behind him before Kabuto could respond.

_It's not my fault his stupid village attracts crazies,_ Kabuto thought bitterly. _This means months of working with those little monsters. Why did he have to make the plan so damn involved? Do we really have to bring down Konoha and reclaim Naruto at the same damn time? _Kabuto groaned loudly in the silence of the temporary office._ When am I going to get out of here?_

* * *

><p>Team seven arrived back at the Hokage Tower, battered and annoyed, towing a mewling, furry ball of rage behind them. Naruto had taken to attaching a chakra string to Tora's collar when they captured her so none of them had to hold her while bringing her in. She usually responded to their attempts to lead her by transforming herself into loud, dangerous bundle of claws and teeth. It was very ingratiating. All three of them thanked Kami that a team several years ago had thought to attach a tracker to Tora's collar and left the code for it with the assignments office.<p>

Sasuke dumped the struggling cat into her owner's arms, waving away her profound thanks and hastily backing up out of clawing range. "How many more times do we have to repeat this useless mission?" he hissed at Kakashi.

"If you do it again for the rest of this and next week I'll be able to get you guys a real mission," Kakashi muttered guiltily, hiding behind his book.

"Oh thank god," Sakura said, bitterly examining the gashes on her forearms and the rips in the hem of her dress.

"Yeah, I didn't think I could hate a cat, but I will gladly make an exception for that charming creature," Naruto growled.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi had asked Naruto to meet with him, not long after Naruto had spoken to the Kyuubi about exploring the powers that had been gifted to him. Naruto went along, dragging his heels a little, with the file of Kabuto's notes in tow.<p>

The two of them spent time going over the shorthand mish-mash of the silver-haired boy's findings. At Sarutobi's insistence, Naruto began writing his own notes, spending time writing out Kabuto's discoveries in comprehensible lists and categories. Every time he thought about the extent of these experiments, about how little of his DNA was probably his own, he would take a break, go for a walk, tinker with some of his more stubborn seal designs, or work on some of his newer puppet blueprints.

Three weeks after being made a genin, Naruto was confident that his transcribed notes were complete. He had identified nine "donors" and had a brief description of each one's intended effect, actual tested effect, according to Kabuto, and any limitations that silver-haired boy had identified. He was surprised and slightly sickened to learn that his affinities for infusing paper and clay with chakra were most likely a result of the experiments, as were his talent with chakra strings and other fine-control exercises, newfound intelligence, obviously his heterochromia, and a few other mannerisms.

At least the slit-like mouths on the palms of his hands were definitely the result of a jutsu. Naruto supposed he should have realized that these things were the results of what had been done to him, but he had not quite realized the extent of the experiments. It would be difficult to discern what was a talent and what was an augmentation.

When Naruto showed Sarutobi his transcribed notes, the Hokage asked if Naruto had a plan for how he would go about testing himself. The blond boy did not, of course, but the very next morning he arrived at the Hokage Tower and slapped a bundle of papers down in front of Sarutobi. The Hokage took one look at Naruto and told him to go home and rest.

"I appreciate how much you want to get this over with, Naruto, but you're running yourself into the ground. You're trying to fit this huge project in around missions and training with your team. If I'm not mistaken, your team will be embarking on your first C-rank mission soon. This can wait until afterward, and for now you need a rest, at least from this side project."

Naruto's stare was glassy. "With all due respect, you don't understand. I had to psyche myself up to even read the stupid notes. I don't want to wait any longer."

"Naruto," Sarutobi's voice was sharp. "Your team is going to depend on you during this mission. Who knows, you may even be allowed outside the walls for the duration of it. Do not ignore my advice. Rest today and give this project a break. I'll go over your plan and get clearance for you to execute it and a space set aside for when you return, clear?"

"Yes, okay," Naruto said numbly.

"Give yourself some credit," Sarutobi said. "You're trying to do an awful lot at the moment. Spend some time with your friends and teammates. That's just as important as training or missions."

"Alright, I get it," Naruto said, not even bothering to turn. He shunshin'd away, presumably back to his apartment. Sarutobi shook his head.

* * *

><p>"Alright boys and girls, listen up." Kakashi stowed his book in his kunai pouch. "Today you'll be receiving your first C-rank mission." He held up his hands as the three of them cheered.<p>

Iruka and Sarutobi exchanged looks behind them. "Are you ready to meet your client?" Sarutobi asked.

"Is that even a question?" Naruto shot back.

Sarutobi ignored that, instead going over to open a door that lead out of the assignments office. "Team seven, this is Tazuna, your client. You'll be escorting him back to Wave." A man stepped into the room. In one hand he clutched a bottle of sake. He regarded the genin with disdain.

"This is the best you could come up with?" He took a draught from the bottle in his hand. "I don't trust the pretty boy. Actually, scratch that, I don't really trust any of them."

Naruto nudged Sasuke. "Pretty boy. That's you."

Sasuke shoved him away, "Can't you be serious for like three seconds?" he hissed.

"Nah," Naruto said, grinning, "Don't want you to get bored." On his other side he could see Sakura struggling to keep her face impassive.

"I assure you," Kakashi was saying, straight-faced and polite, "I personally oversee this team's training. They are more than capable of ensuring your safe travel."

Tazuna squinted at them. "Well if you're sure. I'm a super important bridge-builder, you know."

"And we're super-capable okay? Geez," Naruto said under his breath. Sakura was shaking with the effort of not giggling.

Outside, Kakashi addressed his team. "Tazuna wants to get an early start. We leave at nine o'clock the day after tomorrow, so rest up and pack for a month's travel." He made to move away, but tuned back, pointing threateningly at his team. "And be. On. Time. I cannot stress that enough. I refuse to wake up early just to wait for you guys. This is an actual mission and I show up on time for those. You will do the same."

"Yessir," Naruto said, saluting.

"No need for that," Kakashi said, rolling his eye as he left.

* * *

><p>The next day Naruto made sure to visit his favorite park alone. The flora was slightly overgrown due to the fact that it was hardly ever visited. It was sheltered and lit softly green by light filtering through the tree branches above. He waited only a few minutes before Hinata slid onto the other end of the bench.<p>

"Did you want to see me?" she asked.

"Yeah. We're going on our first C-ranked mission tomorrow," Naruto said.

"How long?"

"Kakashi said a month. Shouldn't be too bad, it's just an escort mission."

"Famous last words," Hinata said with a half-smile.

"Exactly. So, how are you getting along with your team?"

"Not bad. Shino's pretty quiet for the most part and because I keep thrashing Kiba in practices, he hasn't been giving me any trouble. Actually, I think I inspired him to take training more seriously."

"What about your family?"

Hinata's face acquired a shuttered quality. "Same old, same old. So, tell me about your team."

Naruto could hardly miss the shift of focus, but he didn't question it. "Well, Sakura's much more fun than I would have expected from a councilwoman's daughter. She kind of seems to resent her mother, actually."

"And our dear Sasuke-kun?" Hinata pitched her voice higher and fluttered her eyelashes artificially.

Naruto snickered, "He's a decent guy, I guess. Incredibly fun to mess with. I have to tell you what our client said about him, though-"

* * *

><p>The next morning all three of the genin showed up on time. Kakashi was there, quiet and serious, no book in sight. This, more than anything impressed on team seven that they ought to be vigilant. This was the first assignment they had gotten that could be considered a real mission, even if it was just escorting a bridge-builder home.<p>

_Famous last words_.

* * *

><p>AN: Welp this chapter is long overdue. I don't have much to say, so on with the chapter summary. *Fanfare*

1) Naruto and Sasuke bond over being angsty orphans and Naruto tells his teammates about his father and the Kyuubi. In addition, we learn from Sasuke that the Uchiha Clan Masacre killed only MOST Uchihas. Not all. I'm so good at making Itachi a good guy.  
>2) Kabuto gets no sleep (and he didn't even get laid, rude.) and Orochimaru gets the brilliant idea to assemble a genin team and enter them in the chunin exams.<br>3) Our heroes past their exam with flying colors! Sakura uses a boomerang because it's fucking cool! It turns out that Kakshi knows that Icha Icha is utter garbage but he only reads it in public so people will get offended and not want to bother him. Brilliant.  
>4) Turns out the Kyuubi really does have a heart. Naruto should make him a little box with an electromagnet in it to commemorate their beautiful bonding session. Also Naruto plans to alter his seal and figure out what abilities he has now. About freaking time.<br>5) Kabuto is screening children to join Orochimaru's stupid boy-band. Unfortunately his village sucks and all his genin are batshit insane and unreliable. Oops.  
>6) Obligatory meeting of the everyone-fucking-hates-Tora club.<br>7) Naruto and Sarutobi start going over Kabuto's notes on Naruto's experiments and Sarutobi advises him not to test his abilities until after Wave arc. Luckily Kabuto's not the type to doodle crudely-drawn dicks in his notes. (Those dicks were very anatomically correct, naturally.)  
>8) Team seven meets their super-client and he makes a super-good impression on them. Superbly.<br>9) Naruto catches up with Hinata. Let's be real, she's probably the most down-to-earth character in this story.  
>10) We're off to Wave arc! You do not know how excited I am to get here. But will our plucky trio's luck hold out? Only time will tell! Dun-dun-duuuunnnn.<p>

So hopefully I won't drag my heels so much over the next chapter. As I said, I'm really excited to write Wave arc, heh.

As always, your input is appreciated. Please feel free to review and I'll do my best to get back to you. For now, Pax!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter XII

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Further Disclaimer: I am not actually the sole physical embodiment of awesome. That would be my brother, NorthSouthGorem, and if you don't think so get over yourself because I'm right and he is.

Furthest Disclaimer: There's a certain amount of blood, gore, and body horror in this chapter.

* * *

><p>"How long will it take to travel to this place by foot?" Naruto asked, falling into step with Kakashi.<p>

"At least a week, maybe two," the masked man replied, eyes glued to his book.

"It took him that long to get here? Why would he come all this way just to hire some rookies to take him back?"

"I came here to order some supplies for the construction of the bridge," Tazuna called back.

Naruto slowed down a little, walking with Sasuke and Sakura instead. _That doesn't really explain it_.

"There are gangs and thieves who attack travellers, but I guess the materials that he needed to buy were important enough that he had to risk coming to Konoha unescorted," Sakura told him quietly, guessing his thoughts.

"Why didn't he get shinobi from his village to escort him?"

Sakura glanced at him pityingly. "Wave is pretty small. I doubt they have any shinobi." Oh.

* * *

><p>That night they made camp in a small clearing just off the beaten path. After putting out the fire, Sasuke sat by Naruto and Sakura, who were playing some kind of hand-game he couldn't quite follow.<p>

"What are you guys doing?"

"Cat's-cradle with chakra strings," Naruto explained. "It's kind of difficult; you have to preserve the integrity of each strand and be able to sense where each string is so you don't lose your place and try to pick up the strings wrong-" he and Sakura groaned as they dropped their hands. "Damn, messed up."

"So, can you make chakra strings now, Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. Want us to teach you?"

"You can try, but at this point the only thing I can do is this." Sasuke put his fingertips together, a look of concentration on his face. He slowly drew his fingers apart like his was stretching an invisible piece of taffy and in the space between his fingers there briefly flickered a thin rope of fire. It sputtered out quickly, but the other two clamored to know how he did it.

"I'm not great at that yet, and I'm not sure what use it would be if I perfected it," Sasuke admitted. "I think you need to have at least a little elemental affiliation for fire to pull it off."

"And is that what you have?"

"Well, maybe a little, but I think my brother once told me that my main element is probably something else, even though most Uchihas turn out to be fire elementals."

"Why did he think that?"

"When I was first learning fire techniques, it took me two weeks longer to master them than it usually takes people from my clan." Sasuke looked slightly embarrassed.

"Show-off prodigy," Naruto accused. "It took me years of one-on-one training to master basic jutsu and you learned an element that you're not totally affiliated with when you were like five." Sasuke shrugged.

"You know, there's a test you can do that shows your elemental affiliation," Sakura said thoughtfully. "You need a special kind of paper, though."

"I bet Naruto could make a seal that does the same think with any kind of paper," Sasuke pointed out.

Naruto hummed. "Not much point."

"Less expensive," Sasuke said.

"More work," Naruto shot back.

"Yes, but think how you can build on that," Sakura said excitedly. She and Naruto began discussing how he could design the seal and question and then how it could be used to augment other seals. Sasuke looked back and forth between them, a little bemused.

"God, I can't keep up with you smart people," he sighed.

"You're plenty smart, shut up," Naruto said.

"Nah, not compared to you two. I could hold my own against anyone else who was in our academy class-"

"-Except Shikamaru-" they all chorused dutifully.

"-but in this team I'm kind of just the fighting guy, and I have to train pretty hard just to hold that spot."

"Well," Sakura said mock-seriously, "They way I see it, you have two options; either you can accept your fate, or you can study up and bring yourself up to whatever you're calling 'our standards.'"

"Or I can let my resentment fester into a black-hearted thirst for revenge."

"There's always that," Sakura laughed. "Also, don't forget, you have the advantage of being the pretty one."

Naruto hunched his shoulders, not joining in the banter.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, noticing his withdrawal.

"Didn't he say he wanted to get revenge on the guy who messed with his eyes?" Sasuke recalled, sobering. "What did happen to them, anyway?"

Naruto dropped his chin to his chest. "I still don't feel comfortable talking about it," he mumbled. Damn it, if he was going to start figuring out what he could do and using those abilities in fights, he would have to tell them soon. _But not yet_, he added quickly.

Sasuke glanced around furtively before lowering his voice. "You told us that you're the Kyuubi Jinchuriki and that your father was the fourth Hokage. I think very little would surprise us after that."

Naruto shook his head vehemently. "This might. It's kind of horrifying."

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged looks. "You can tell us anything, but we understand if you want to wait until you're ready," Sakura said.

"Yeah, after all, we are your friends," Sasuke said gruffly.

"Are you sure we're not just 'kind-of' friends like you guys are?" Naruto asked.

Sakura snorted. "I only say that because Sasuke is a skittish colt who's afraid of commitment," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Well geez, don't sugar-coat it for me or anything," Sasuke groused.

"Your ego can take it."

Naruto couldn't help smiling. "Thanks, guys."

* * *

><p>Later Naruto lay awake in the tent. Sasuke had fallen asleep quickly but Naruto didn't feel remotely tired. Every time he closed his eyes he felt his heartbeats more acutely and each time he was reminded with a pang of horror that, at least according to Kabuto's notes, his heart was one of the few original pieces of his body he had left.<p>

_How does that even work? How is it even possible that I'm mostly made of threads now? I mean, I guess I still have my bones and major organs, but how am I even still alive?_

He felt the Kyuubi make a sound that, if vocalized, would have been akin to a derisive snort.

_Are you listening to my thoughts again?_

'I can't help it, you're being ridiculous.'

_How so?_

'You see no problem in that you can literally control magical bluish life-force energy or in that a huge talking fox is somehow contained in a body it is physically much larger than, but the fact that you're full of threads is giving you pause?'

_When you say it like that it does sound kind of silly…._

'Just trying to keep things in perspective.'

Naruto hesitated briefly. _Hey, can I come in there and talk to you?_

'Do what you want, it's your headspace.'

_Well that's encouraging._

'You can do it. I believe in you,' he said in a flat voice.

_Better. We'll work on that._ Naruto shut his eyes and concentrated, centering himself before making the final shove and breaching his mindscape.

* * *

><p>Orochimaru paced tensely. According to Kabuto, the genin training program would begin soon. Orochimaru had already decided that it would be in his interest to give these children the newest version of his cursed seal. He really needed to take an hour or two one of these days to hash out every detail of his invasion plan. Oh, he knew that one ought not to plan any sort of battle so explicitly, as it was hardly ever likely to go entirely according to design. However. This was <em>his<em> plan. Every variable was accounted for. It would work, and his former village would be brought to its metaphorical knees. He would be recognized for his skill and brilliance, and anyone who had ever doubted him, his old teacher, for one, would beg him for mercy.

But he would be merciless.

Orochimaru's cruel smile was visible to no one as he contemplated his ultimate tool, his weapon in this war against all those who had wronged him. It was so perfect. The would-be savior of Konoha, the godchild of his worthless teammate, a skin made so much more than he would have been on his own through Orochimaru's own work and planning. Of course, he was absent at the moment, but not lost, not by any means.

Orochimaru's mouth suddenly twisted in distaste. There was one obstacle he had yet to overcome. One flaw. The Kyuubi. He would have considered using its insurmountable power for himself were it not for one thing. For the first time in months, the Snake Sannin considered the words of the one survivor of the party he had sent to infiltrate the boy's mind.

The man had returned, drenched with sweat, eyes hollowed and darkened as if he could already see the shadow of death hanging over him. He had come back to his body, surrounded by the corpses of his fellows, and had uttered the words of the fox.

"_In the event that everything you've done to this host does not kill him when you break me out, I swear to kill him myself rather than allow you to seize control of the parts of my Youki that will still live in him or let you reap any reward from what you've done to him."_

The Snake Sannin's brow furrowed. Garnering attention on every beloved detail of his invasion could wait. He needed a way to deal with this, and quickly.

* * *

><p>Naruto studied the chair. Well, it was more like a throne, really. Though he had visited the Kyuubi many times since he had first dragged the sheet off of the offensive piece of furniture in question, he had tried to avoid looking at it closely ever since. It was clearer to him now than before that every part of the throne represented some new part of him, all amounting to an eerie, amalgamated grotesquery. He shuddered as the heavy-lidded eyes imbedded in the clay followed him as he backed away.<p>

"How am I supposed to get rid of this?" he murmured.

"Do you really want to?" the Kyuubi asked, low and unexpectedly.

Naruto turned away from the hideous sight, grateful for the distraction. "Yes, of course."

"Well then it should be obvious, shouldn't it?"

Naruto sighed, exasperated. "I know this is my mind and I'm supposed to know it inside and out, but surprisingly enough, I don't. It's not obvious at all."

"Think about it another way, then. What part of you does that chair represent?"

Naruto turned slowly, letting his eyes grow unfocused at he scanned the fixture, looking for the bigger picture. The Kyuubi sighed impatiently. "It's not a trick question," he muttered.

"With you, I never can tell," Naruto said absently. He sighed. "I guess it stands for everything Orochimaru did to me, all the bits and pieces that can be traced back to him."

"And how do you feel about those parts of yourself?" The Kyuubi asked patiently.

That was easier. "Scared," Naruto said immediately.

"And how does that affect how willing you are to use them?"

Naruto squinted. "I feel like you're leading me. Why don't you just tell me the point you want me to get?"

"It's more meaningful if you realize it for yourself." The great fox showed its teeth. "And I get to watch you flounder gracefully toward absolute comprehension."

"Bully."

"Well?"

"I guess I don't really want to use them?"

"Is that a question?"

"Yeah, kind of. I mean, I have access to amazing power, some of which I've already used. But I didn't earn it, and I didn't ask for it. But on the other hand, there may come a time when it'll save my life."

"Good rationalizing so far. So, if your issue is self-acceptance, what do you think your unwillingness to approach the chairs says?"

Naruto had a sinking feeling. "That I'll only be able get rid of when I figure out this shit show," he said softly.

Kyuubi shrugged, as well as a fox can. "Sounds about right. But don't count on it ever really going away. It could be that those powers are permanent, and so is the mistrust you feel of them. In which case, you're going to have to get used to think of them as a part of you, and not as some unwanted fixture. Can you do that?"

"Maybe someday."

* * *

><p>Naruto woke before the sun was really up and crawled out of the tent to escape the stuffy heat and Sasuke's numerous elbows. Honestly, it seemed like he must have at least four. He sat wrapped in a blanket, stirring last night's ashes with a stick.<p>

When he got home, he was going to get started on that schedule he had made for figuring out his powers. He was going to fix the Kyuubi's seal. He was going to ask about Youki. He shivered in the cool morning air as Sakura's tousled pink head emerged from her own tent. Seeing Naruto's blanket, she muttered, "That's a good idea," and fetched her own to sit beside him in silence.

* * *

><p>By the time they had erased all signs of their campsite and packed their supplies, Naruto was right back up to his chatty self, discussing once again seal ideas he had been playing with. Sasuke rolled his eyes and said it was too much smart-talk for him, but Naruto noticed to way the Uchiha seemed to be fascinated despite himself, keeping one ear on the conversation as he walked ahead.<p>

It was as they passed an innocuous-seeming puddle that it happened. Chains whipped out of nowhere, tightly securing Kakashi where he stood. The genin and bridge builder had only enough time to take in the gauntlets and cruel-looking thugs the chains were attached to and see the terror in Kakashi's dark eye before both intruders wrenched at the chains. Their sensei's body was rent to bloody shreds.

Naruto didn't know what was going on. A voice in his head was screaming at him but the words didn't make sense. Time was slowing down, each heartbeat pulsing harder, quicker, each movement sharper, easier to track. Naruto didn't even consider it, just positioned his hands palm-outward in front of him and launched two wicked spikes of black metal. At the same moment, he viewed Sasuke and Sakura move to he left and right. Sasuke sent a huge, blisteringly hot ball of flame toward the men. Time had not quite caught up to Naruto yet, and he turned his head, admiring the almost stately progress of the flame as it rolled at a leisurely pace toward the men.

Naruto heard several sharp pings and muffled hoarse screaming. The flames had engulfed the men, and by the time it cleared, leaving them soot-blackened and lightly charred, armor greasy from the smoke, Naruto was standing beside them.

He looked down at them writhing on the ground and knocked them out without a second thought. As he lowered his hand, time suddenly sped up again and he stumbled as he knees nearly buckled. His head was pounding and his heart was racing so fast he thought for a moment he was having a panic attack. He could see every singed hair on his forearm where the fireball had passed too close. He could see the fine tremors in his hands. When he looked down, he noticed the heat-fractured splinters of metal sunk deep into the armor of the unconscious men. He could see where the chakra threads Sakura must have created to hold the men in place left narrow lines free from char across the men's skin and armor.

When Naruto turned around to face his teammates they stared at him. "What?" he rasped, voice cracking.

"Are they dead?" Sakura whispered. Naruto shook his head.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, voice shaking nearly as bad as Naruto's hands. "Why do you have Sharingan?"

Naruto blinked slowly, the words taking a while to process. He took in every shimmer of sweat on his teammates' faces, every fallen leaf and twig on the forest path, the pile of wood splinters where the two interlopers had taken down Kakashi. He could see everything and it was too much, too much sensory input. With an effort, he reined it in. He wasn't sure how. He was pretty sure he was in shock.

"Naruto?" Sakura said quietly. She sounded calm, but her eyes were wide and scared. "What were those things you threw? And why did you have Sharingan?"

Naruto shook his head. He opened his mouth to answer, but his teeth were chattering badly. "Secret," he managed. With an effort, "Promise I'm not dangerous."

Sasuke took a step forward. Naruto flinched as he grabbed his wrist. "Stupid," he said. He sounded sad, for whatever reason. "We're not scared of you. We just want to understand. Explain?"

"Some other time," Naruto said. When would his friends get sick of hearing that, he wondered.

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged a look and Sasuke let him go. "Okay," Sakura said, simply.

Sasuke raked a hand through his hair. "What are we going to do without Kakashi?" he asked wretchedly.

"Well first of all, someone should probably rouse Tazuna, he threw up and then passed out in a bush at the first sign of trouble. Sensible of him." The three genin whipped around to see Kakashi standing whole and very much alive in the path. He held up a hand to quell their clamoring. "You three did well. We'll have a debriefing later, but for now, we have a self-proclaimed important bridge builder to interrogate." That silenced them.

* * *

><p>Tazuna stood, nervously facing three children and a seemingly calm man who he knew could easily rip his lungs out. He had been roused none to gently and was now being made to answer for his sins.<p>

"You see," the silver-haired man was saying patiently, "We are all people in a line of work that involves killing people. However, it seems my team has been misinformed as to the nature of this mission. It would be in your best interest to tell us what really going on, because if there're two things I can't stand, it's a liar and someone who puts my team at risk. And you seem to fall neatly into both categories."

Tazuna was sweating by now. His mouth was dry and his palms damp. He needed a drink.

"You see," he quavered. "What I said was true. I am a bridge builder. But what you don't know is what this bridge means for the people of Wave." He went on describe the dire situation his people were kept in by the small yet menacing man, Gatou. By the end of his tale, the faces of the shinobi before him ranged from grim to horrified. He cringed as the calm man smiled at him.

"Now you see," Kakashi said, "If you had been honest about that from the beginning, we wouldn't be in this mess. Now excuse me, I need to consult my team." He deliberately turned his back on Tazuna, studying the expressions of his genin.

"What do you guys think?" he asked in an undertone. "We're in over our heads. There's no way this would ever normally be classified as a C-rank mission. This is a B- or A-rank mission at least. I wouldn't blame you at all if you wanted to turn back."

For some unfathomable reason, Sakura and Sasuke immediately looked to Naruto. He took a steadying breath. "He may have lied to us, but it seems he really does need our help," Naruto said quietly. "If there are no shinobi where he comes from, I think it's our job step in."

"Are you sure?" Kakashi urged. "If we go back it'll be a two-day trek, tops, and we can always hand this mission to someone more qualified."

"I agree with Naruto," Sakura said. "We agreed to get Tazuna home safely. If we get there and decide we've fulfilled our mission, we can go home. But we can't just give up." Sasuke nodded.

Kakashi sighed. "You kids are too kind-hearted for your own good. Alright. It's your choice. And if any of you want to head back early, just say the word. I'm not happy about walking into this blind and I don't know what else we'll see before it's over, but I trust you to make up your minds." Kakashi looked around for Tazuna, who had retreated a little ways, and beckoned him over.

"In direct defiance of my most excellent advice, my team has decided to bestow upon you the benefit of the doubt," Kakashi said, sternly. "We will accompany you to Wave. All further action we may or may not take will be judged upon arrival. Arrangement subject to change on the grounds that you lied to us." Tazuna nodded eagerly.

"I owe you all so much," he said, voice thick with emotion.

"And I expect to see that reflected in the payout," Naruto muttered. Sakura stifled a nervous giggle. "What?" Naruto asked crossly. "A guy's gotta eat."

"Anyway," Kakashi said, lightly. "You four go on. I'll get rid of these pesky bodies." He gestured at the unmoving attackers slumped on the ground.

"Um," Naruto interjected, raising a hand, "They're actually just unconscious."

Something seemed to shift behind Kakashi's expression. "Like I said. I'll get rid of the bodies. You go on. Don't look back."

Sasuke and Sakura made a quick about-face, already following Tazuna's retreating back. Naruto hesitated. "If you're going to kill them, I can do it," Naruto said softly. He didn't meet Kakashi's eyes.

"No." Kakashi regarded Naruto as he tried to speak, tried to protest he had done it before, but in the end, Naruto left, silent.

He didn't look back.

* * *

><p>When Kakashi caught up to them, he demanded the debriefing he had spoken of. After first assuring his genin that he had not, in fact, been caught off guard, and had received their indignant criticism for his idea of observing how they would react to a real-life attack, he asked for a synopsis of what they had done.<p>

Naruto wasn't sure quite what to tell the others. He knew he must have used his augmented powers in some way, but he had been panicking, and it hadn't by any means been deliberate. He was taken aback when both Sasuke and Sakura gave account of how calm and quick he had been to act.

"I barely knew what was happening by the time Naruto was attacking," Sasuke explained. "The only thing I could think of was to back him up. Sorry if I cut it a little close with the fireball," he said apologetically to Naruto. Naruto waved away the apology.

"Not like I wanted that hair, anyway," he said dismissively.

"I feel like we ought to have a contingency plan for that sort of thing," Sakura suggested, "In case we're attacked again."

Kakashi nodded. "Not a bad idea. When you three are more used to fighting alongside each other, you'll be better at working together on the fly but for now that would be a smart thing to figure out."

"What I don't get," Sasuke started, only half-listening, "Is what was up with your eyes, Naruto."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked quickly. "You guys said I had Sharingan."

"Well yeah, kind of. That's what it seemed like. Your right eye was red with one comma thing-"

"Tomoe, Sakura," Sasuke corrected primly.

"Yeah, that. But your left eye was like it usually is only different colors. Red iris with black rings."

"Huh," Naruto said, puzzled. "Weird. Wonder why it looked like that. I don't remember much more than a blur, but I remember being able to see everything so clearly. Especially movements. Almost before they happened, even."

"Well they say that was a Sharingan is like," Kakashi said shrewdly. Naruto avoided his gaze.

Luckily, no one brought it up again over the next week or so.

* * *

><p>The final leg of the journey was an eerie boat ride, the low fog causing Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto to peer around, painfully alert for any small noise coming across the water. The vigilance didn't end even when they were safely on land and en route to Tazuna's house.<p>

Naruto, perhaps wound the tightest, snapped first, whipping a kunai out and sending it flying before realizing that the rustle had only been a little white rabbit. From the look on the visible part of Kakashi's face, however, that rabbit was bad news. Kakashi hissed, "Look out-"

"If it isn't Copy-Cat Kakashi," came a low drawl. Naruto faced the new interloper, sick with dread. Wait, what kind of nickname was that?

"You know," Kakashi said off-handedly, frantically gesturing behind him for the genin to get Tazuna out of there, "I actually first got that nickname in grade-school. But it wasn't for the reason you'd think. See, I was such a genius, everyone in the class used to copy off of _me_, ha-ha."

"Not genius enough to keep your mouth shut, apparently. Didn't peg you for a rambler," the stranger said, amused.

"Oh, usually I'm not," Kakashi said with equal humor, "but I've been having an off day and really I'm just trying to stall you wow look at all of these words I'm saying right now."

"Too late," the stranger said, slowly rising from where he crouched among the branches. "Those kids should have run off with the bridge builder when they had the chance." In a moment his sword was in his hand, and the next, he was standing atop the handle of the truly massive cleaver from where it was imbedded in a tree.

"Compensating much?" Kakashi muttered. In a louder voice, he remarked, "So I take it you're the missing nin, Momochi Zabuza?"

"That would be me, yes," Zabuza said pleasantly.

"Well in that case, I won't offer you my hand," Kakashi said, pushing up the headband that normally covered his left eye.

From Naruto's vantage point, he saw a long scar across his sensei's eye, and a bright red and black swirling design where an iris should be. He looked across to Sasuke, who seemed totally indignant. "Am I the only one on this team who doesn't have a Sharingan?" Sasuke whisper-shrieked. "Sakura, any chance you're hiding one or two?"

"Can't say I am, sorry."

"You do me a great honor by uncovering your Sharingan so early, Kakashi," Zabuza drawled.

"Like I said, I'm having an off day. I'd rather there be no dicking around," Kakashi replied shortly.

Zabuza rolled his shoulders nonchalantly. "No chance you'd just hand me the bridge builder?"

"No chance at all," Kakashi replied. Behind him, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto moved to surround Tazuna, facing out, ready to defend.

Zabuza sighed theatrically. "So be it." In the blink of an eye, he and his sword were gone from the tree. Naruto looked around frantically before spotting him standing atop the water, one hand raised as the other formed a sign. "Kirigakure no Jutsu," Naruto heard. A creeping mist began to spread outward from where Zabuza stood. Naruto only had time to register the smirk under the man's mask before the mist engulfed the lake.

"Watch your backs," Kakashi said tightly.

"Funny you should say that," came a voice from behind the genin. They whipped around just as Zabuza moved to knock them all back. They found themselves stumbling away from Tazuna anyway, shunted back by Kakashi Kawarimi'ing to intercept the blow.

For an infinitesimal moment there was stillness. Zabuza looked down at the kunai Kakashi had plunged into his stomach, his face whitening and his lips parting around a bloody gurgle before falling away, forming nothing more than a harmless puddle. It was Sakura who snapped their sensei back into action by shrieking, "Behind you!" before leaping forward, boomerang already leaving her hand.

Zabuza barely flinched as the boomerang sliced open his cheek, but his eyes widened as halfway through his sword's arc, Kakashi, instead of being precisely bisected, as was his intention, burst into another shower of droplets.

Zabuza froze as Kakashi pressed a kunai to his throat. "Checkmate," Kakashi murmured.

"Not exactly." Kakashi felt the cold press of metal against his own throat. "Two can play at this copy-cat business."

"What?" Naruto registered the blood dripping from the cheek of the Zabuza behind Kakashi, registered the fall of water as Kakashi burst yet another clone under his knife. "What the hell is going on?" Naruto half-shrieked. He stood there, shifting from foot to foot as he tracked Kakashi and Zabuza's hand-to-hand fight, wondering if there was something he could do to help.

_Well, there's one thing, but- _Naruto turned to Sakura. "Can I see your boomerang?"

She handed it over without question. Naruto inspected it for a moment, watched closely by his pink-haired teammate, before raising it to his mouth and carefully licking off some of the blood left on it. The effect was immediate. Naruto felt his heart rate pick up as his skin tingled all over. His limbs felt heavier, more solid, and for the first time in a while, he could feel his pulse in every part of his body, particularly in his face and fingertips. When he looked down, he saw that his left arm was bone-white, while his right was pitch black with white, skeletal markings.

He was aware of his teammates' wide-eyed gazes flicking between him and their sensei. Just as Zabuza succeeded in trapping Kakashi in a chakra-draining prison of water, Naruto quickly sliced his own palm open, spreading the resulting blood around him into the pattern of a triangle contained in a circle. Ignoring his teammates' slightly hysterical questions, he raised his voice to cut through Zabuza's taunts.

"Let Kakashi go." He said, and was pleased at how loud and steady his voice was. He drew a kunai. All eyes were on him, and he resisted the urge to fidget.

"And what you gonna do, freak?" Zabuza sneered.

In answer, Naruto held out his right hand, still clutching Sakura's boomerang, and held the kunai up to his forearm, just above the wrist. "I said," he enunciated, "Let him go, or lose your hand. You have until three. One," his hand tightened reflexively on the handle of the kunai. "Two-"

"What are you talking-?"

"Three." Naruto gritted his teeth before bringing the knife down with all of his strength. Somehow, he thought it would be harder to do. He had the vague idea that the Kyuubi had helped him out, lending him strength.

Blood spurted from the stump of his arm as his hand fell with a stomach-lurching thud to the ground. The pain was intolerable, white hot, obscuring his vision, pounding in his head. He couldn't hear himself, but he was sure he was chanting some pretty choice expletives as he knelt on the ground. He could hear screaming, probably from more than one person, but when one voice abruptly stopped, he forced himself to look up, head swimming, past his horrified teammates.

Kakashi was crouching in the shallow lake, drenched with water and Zabuza's blood, while Zabuza- Naruto grimaced, unable to see clearly. It was only when Kakashi looked up, his face gaunt but calm, that Naruto realized that someone else had arrived.

He twisted around to a see a masked person rapidly approaching the lake. They stopped beside Kakashi, exchanging a few words with him before addressing the rest of team seven.

"I've been tracking Momochi Zabuza for weeks," the person said. The words reached Naruto through a sort of haze of pain as he fought to stay conscious. "Thank you for your assistance, but I'll take it from here." The person lifted Zabuza's body over one shoulder, stooping to fish his severed hand out of the water before offering a quick nod to those assembled and vanishing.

Kakashi was at Naruto's side in an instant. The Jounin looked mostly unharmed, just shaken and drained, and he help Naruto out of the pattern he had drawn, scuffing the lines with his sandals for good measure. As soon as the circle was broken, the bleeding stopped. Naruto's skin reverted to its usual color, and the pain receded to a distant ache. Looking down, he saw the ends of frayed black threads poking out of the end of his arm and the wrist of his severed hand, which has also returned to a normal color.

Naruto brushed Kakashi off, now being able to stand on his own, and bent to pick up his hand. He gave Sakura back her boomerang and she took it, eyes wide and face pale.

After a moment of silence, in which everyone stared at Naruto, Tazuna spoke, voice slurring and shaking so badly it was hard to understand him. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you, boy?"

No one else spoke. When it was clear Tazuna wasn't going to get an answer he seemed to give up, turning and plodding wearily toward his house.

Naruto trailed behind the others, confirming with Kyuubi that his hand could be easily reattached. He held the appendage in place as the healing process began, the hot burst of fresh pain of his nerves realigning almost making his knees buckle again.

When they reached the bridge-builder's home, Tazuna went straight inside, not even bothering to invite the shinobi in, too.

Team seven stopped outside the house, barring Naruto from entering. Naruto cradled his hand, eyeing his teammates warily.

"I know Sasuke and Sakura have been respecting your autonomy," Kakashi began, "And I'm grateful you stepped in to help me against Zabuza. But that man is going to be back and we need to know what's going on with you."

"Wait," Sasuke said sharply. "I want to know what's going on with him, too, but what do you mean Zabuza will be back?"

Kakashi shook his head. "That person who collected him was no hunter-nin. They used senbon needles to take him out, for one thing, which means he could still have been alive when they took him. For another, they took his whole body instead of just his head. And they were awfully quick to step in when it was clear he was in trouble."

Kakashi shrugged. "But we don't have to worry about that for a while. Zabuza just lost a hand. He won't be fighting fit for some time now, if he ever will be again." Kakashi's expression hardened. "Which brings us back to you Naruto. You need to tell us what's going on. Whether Zabuza returns or not, we're a team and we need to know what you can do and why." The last part had Naruto narrowing his eyes at his sensei.

_I wonder how much he knows from Sarutobi. _Naruto sat down heavily on the edge of the porch and sighed. "Get comfortable, then," he said. "It's a long story."

* * *

><p>AN: Heeeyy so yeah. This.

Wave Arc is pretty formulaic so writing it is always fairly straightforward.

Chapter Summary~

1) Tazuna's story has some holes in? Gee, I wonder why that is.

2) Elemental seals and Naruto being cagey.

3) Kyuubi is an asshole.

4) Orochimaru plans for the invasion and for getting the Kyuubi out of Naruto. Really thinking ahead there.

5) Kyuubi is an asshole part II: Return of enigma.

6) Sharing a tent with Sasuke is hell, don't tell his 500 girlfriends.

7) Fight with the demon brothers of the mist. Naruto uses his Sharingan and a little Rinnegan power. And he only has one tomoe what a noob. Kakashi is badass and badass music plays whenever he's angry.

8) They press on and have a little pow-wow.

9) Zabuza shows up and Naruto uses Hidan's powers. Don't worry, he'll heal up just fine. The reason his left side is all white and his right side is black with white marks has to do with how his Zetzu DNA combined with Hidan's. Fun fact~

Well, that's all. I'd just like to thank whoever reads this for sticking around and having faith in the updating process. Yesterday I actually went ahead and figured this whole mess out right up until the final chapter, so it should certainly be interesting getting there. As ever, reviews are appreciated, but if you're going to be a douche canoe I will not tolerate it. I love you guys very dearly. Do something nice for yourselves today!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter XIII

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

><p>Naruto rubbed his face with his good hand, the join at his right wrist still feeling a little fragile from his amateur surgeon act. He really did <em>not <em>want to tell this story, not least because telling it meant he would have to relive it, to acknowledge what he was and how he got that way. And how would his team react? It seemed like it was finally time to find out.

He began at the beginning, as he had read that every good story should. "So, you know how I'm the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, right? And I grew up without my parents and no one really looking after me?" He didn't wait for his team's confirmation, eyes flicking to Kakashi, who looked grave. The Jounin nodded, and Naruto continued.

"Well, Sarutobi thought the best thing would be to get me off the streets as early as possible and get on with my education. I guess the Kyuubi thing kinda ensured that I would need to become a shinobi, or at least to learn how to fight, so I was enrolled in the Shinobi Academy. And I sucked." He picked idly at a stray thread at the cuff of his sleeve, staring fixedly at his lap instead of at his friends.

"I don't know if it's because I was so young or too dumb and impatient, or because of the Kyuubi's seal messing with my chakra, or any of a hundred other things, but I just could not get jutsu to work right for me. Not just that, but I was slow to learn other things, too. Taijutsu forms went in one ear and out the other; my aim was a class joke. By the time I got to my last year of classes, I didn't have a single friend, and I was a real brat because of it. When I failed the graduating exam, I felt terrible. I felt trapped. I didn't think I would ever be a shinobi, would ever be anyone important or even happy. Then I got an offer."

Sakura started to make a questioning noise, but Sasuke shushed her. Naruto was grateful. He took a shuddery breath. "I was ten years old. A man approached me, one of my teachers from the Academy. Offered to put me in touch with some people who would perform non-invasive tests and, in exchange, would give me private training. That seemed like a pretty good deal to me, better than another year in a classroom of people who thought I was an idiot and whose parents hated me. So I said yes. Next thing I new, I was waking up somewhere different."

Naruto risked glancing upward, but immediately wished he hadn't. Sasuke and Sakura looked like they were treading the line between pitying and horrified, and Kakashi looked worse, what could be seen of his face carefully kept blank.

"I was there for over a year. I wasn't exactly sure how long until I got out, but it was weird. For one thing, I never left the building that entire time. Never saw out of a window. I was also being monitored most of the time, I think. But the weirdest part was that the training they were putting me through really seemed to be working. I was better at things I had learned before, could visualize abstract concepts I never would have understood before. I was having original ideas, mastering jutsu and techniques above the skill level of my peers. It seemed too good to be true. Maybe that's why it took me so long to start being suspicious." Now his voice went flat, his recitation taking on a mechanical quality.

"I only ever really saw two people that whole time. One was the guy looking after me and teaching me, really no more than a kid himself. The other, well, turns out she was my mother." Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to cry as his voice wavered.

"Kushina?" Kakashi broke his silence, sounding shocked. "Is she still-?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not anymore," he said softly. "She was teaching me sealing. Then the guy in charge of whatever was being done to me did something to her. Put her under a genjutsu, I think. Anyway, she attacked me." He swallowed, and blinked hard, barely surprised at the tears sliding down his face.

"She thought I was someone else, someone who had killed someone important to her. She said she hated me. She was choking me and- I don't know what I did, I just needed to breathe. And suddenly-" he broke off. His head was throbbing just remembering, and his breath was coming quicker, his voice wet and thick-sounding. "I don't even know how it happened. She was trying to kill me and I was begging for her to stop but- I don't know-" He broke off to wipe his eyes on his sleeve. "And I did something. I still don't know what but she let go. She was bleeding and already dying and- and she said I was her son and-"

Naruto took a shuddery breath, trying to collect himself. "After that I didn't trust the tests anymore. She died and no one came to save her or to stop her trying to kill me, to stop me killing her. It wasn't long after that that I met the Kyuubi for the first time. He clued me in a little. Told me what was being done to me during those "non-invasive" experiments." Naruto voice turned bitter, cracking on the last few words.

"They were injecting me with things in my sleep. They probably kept me under with some kind of drug, and then gave me the injections. I had already started to realize I was losing time every time they took me in for testing, and according to the Kyuubi, this was why. The stuff they were giving me- it was what made me smarter, more competent. But it was no drug. It was DNA from other skilled Shinobi."

"Human experiments?" Sakura's voice sounded choked and high. Naruto looked up, nodded at her, hunching his shoulders.

"It gave me powers, specific abilities, some of which I had already been trained to use by the same kid who taught me to throw a punch. But it changed my body, too. Everything's different, now. I don't know how half of it works, but I swiped some notes on my experimentation before I escaped, so I plan to figure out what I can do when we make it back to Konoha."

"How did you escape?" Sasuke asked hoarsely.

Naruto shrugged. "One of the powers they gave me. The thing I did to Zabuza was another one."

"And the Sharingan?" Sasuke asked, mind clearly working quickly, "You have Uchiha DNA?"

"It's likely," Kakashi said quietly. "You have a Rinnegan, too, and presumably at least some of the powers associated with that. Naruto, do you know who authorized these experiments?"

Naruto's mouth twisted. He knew that look in Kakashi's eye. "You've guessed, haven't you? Sarutobi told me human experiments were kind of this guy's MO. Apparently it was this guy named Orochimaru, one of Sarutobi's old students. No one ever mentioned his name to me while I was there, but the Kyuubi called him the Snake Sannin."

Kakashi bowed his head tensely, as if deep in thought. Without looking at Naruto, he said, "Then I'm sorry to ask, Naruto, but are you in any danger?"

Naruto scrubbed a hand through his hair, exhausted and aching from a long day. "I've been a target since the day I was born. But in regards to this, I don't know. Probably? This Orochimaru guy invested a lot of time and effort in me. He'll probably send someone after me sooner or later. But if you're asking if _I'm_ dangerous, well. I don't think so. I barely know how to use my powers. I guess the real danger is that I'll use them without thinking and end up hurting someone, but that's not very likely. These days I overthink _everything._"

* * *

><p>The pseudo-hunter nin crouched over Zabuza's motionless body, fingers tracing over the bandages covering the larger man's mouth and throat. Carefully, they drew out a pair of clippers, reaching forward to snip away the bandages.<p>

"Gonna have to drain some blood," they muttered. "And you already lost so much when that crazy kid cut your arm off. Last time I use poison senbon on you, Zabuza-san, promise." They reached up, clippers in hand, but the movement was arrested by another hand shooting up to grasp their fingers.

"I'll do that," Zabuza rasped, half sitting up. The other chided him softly as he gripped the senbon in his left hand, yanking them out of his own neck.

"You shouldn't do that," the other hummed. "You'll pass out again."

Zabuza didn't even glance up. "What are you still wearing that mask for?" He asked, dropping the senbon to the forest floor and shifting to examine the stump of his right wrist, neatly cleaned and bandaged, but with blood already starting to seep through in places.

"Sorry," the other replied, voice soft but clearly suppressing laughter. They reached up to remove the mask. "It just reminds me of the old days."

Zabuza glanced up at that. "You're so weird, Haku. How do you look so innocent and still be a devious asshole. You did _not_ need to take me down that hard. Where's the rest of my arm?"

"I learned from the best, Zabuza-san," Haku said, a smile playing around his mouth. "I have your arm on ice. I can still reattach it, I think, but you shouldn't be up and about for at least a week, maybe two, in any case. If I find the right herbs, I can even try to take away some of the pain and the truly amazing scar you're going to end up with. Wouldn't want to damage your good looks, would we?"

Zabuza reached up and planted a hand on Haku's face, shoving him backwards onto a pile of leaves, grumbling even as Haku snickered. "Shut up, kid. Just get us out of here."

"As you wish." Haku scrambled up and bowed theatrically. Then he paused. "What are we gonna tell Gatou about that kid?"

Zabuza shook his head, offering Haku his hand to help him up. "Maybe nothing. I guess he's still young, but I've never even heard of what he did. Maybe we need to do some digging. In regards to Gatou, we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it."

"We seem to be having a lot of trouble with bridges lately," Haku said slyly. "Maybe a different idiom would be better."

"Shut up, kid."

* * *

><p>When Kakashi woke up the next morning, he was just in time to slap away the hands of his genin, clearly intent on peeling away his mask to see what lay beneath. It was like a sixth sense, knowing when someone was about to get a glimpse of his face. He sat up a little too quickly, pausing for a couple of heartbeats while his head stopped spinning.<p>

"I'm gonna go ahead and assume this was Naruto's idea," he said, deadpan.

Naruto's guilty, "No!" and Sakura and Sasuke's equally emphatic, "Yes," was all he needed.

Kakashi groaned, stretching. "How did you guys sleep?"

"Fine," they chorused, dutifully. Kakashi narrowed his eye at them. Liars. Even though they had slept in the next room, he had heard them all whispering together until the early hours of the morning. Naruto in particular looked distinctly unrested.

Kakashi leaned back, propping himself up on his arms. "Well, we said that when we got here we would make a decision about staying versus leaving. Any thoughts?"

Before anyone could answer, Tazuna arrived, carrying a small boy on his hip. "Hello Konoha shinobi," he said brightly. I'd like you to meet my grandson, Inari. Inari, these are the people who saved grandpa's life yesterday."

"Yeah, yesterday. And a week ago, on the way here," Naruto muttered.

Inari, for his part, took one look at them before burying his face in Tazuna's shoulder, glowering. He looked a little like a crab, a bucket hat pullet low over his dark eyes. At first Naruto assumed he was just shy, until he heard a high, muffled voice say, "They're too young."

"Oh my god, it's genetic," Sasuke said, before he could stop himself. Inari turned and glared at him.

"You're all going to die," he said, with more venom than Naruto had ever heard a ten-year-old manage. "Gatou will kill you."

"No we won't," Sakura said, directing an uncertain smile at Inari. "We've been trained for this, we're all capable-"

"Don't argue with him, Sakura," Naruto said. "He's not going to believe us. We'll just have to show him by saving his grandpa again so he can finish the bridge, won't we?" He addressed himself to Inari.

"You're stupid," Inari shot back. "You should leave if you don't want to die." Inari struggled until Tazuna put him down. He purposely turned his back. "I'm going to my room."

Tazuna and his daughter, Tsunami, had barely begun apologizing before Naruto stood up. "May I follow him?" He asked Tsunami, who looked surprised. She nodded, and Naruto left, ascending the stairs until he stood outside Inari's door. He could hear the young boy's sobs. He raised his hand to knock on the door before he heard a single word gasped out from within the room.

"_Dad,_" Naruto slowly lowered his hand. He had been right, Inari wasn't going to let himself hope. They'd just have to show him.

He went back downstairs to find that Kakashi had already gone outside, accompanied by Sakura and Sasuke. He quickly followed, nodding to Tsunami and Tazuna.

Outside, Kakashi was pacing, every once in a while putting a hand up to his head. Naruto suspected that he had been a little more drained by his fight with Zabuza than he was letting on. Once he spotted Naruto, he stopped.

"Like I was saying before, we don't have to stay," The Jounin said brusquely. "It was underhanded of Tazuna to play that card. For all we know, that kid may be right, we could die. Even if we stay, there may be nothing we can do for these people. We don't owe them anything. So what's your verdict? Stay or go back for help?"

"Inari may have been an unworthy way of getting our attention," Sakura said, "But it's not like it didn't work. I still vote we stay. We're better than any of them give us credit for. How long do you think we have until Zabuza is back on his feet?"

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. "A week? More? Less? Depends whether they're going to try to reattach his hand."

"He's a swordsman. Plus, that hunter brought his hand with them. I'd guess they are," Sasuke said reasonably.

"Closer to two weeks then, if we're lucky," Kakashi said. "Still vote we stay, Sakura?"

She nodded, eyes flicking over to Naruto. "Not- not to be insensitive or anything, Naruto, but Zabuza is still alive, and that's on us."

"I agree," Naruto said. His hands curled into fists. "We have some breathing room. I suggest we work out some kind of plan, do some training. Maybe help on the bridge, if we can. The sooner it's complete, the better." He thought of Inari. He was pretty messed up by the time he was that kid's age. He had to do what he could.

"Well I'm in," Sasuke said offhandedly, "If anyone's interested."

Kakashi rubbed at his exposed eye. "I swear you kids will be the death of me. All right. If that's what you want, time for a crash course. I want you to have a rough plan of attack worked out by this afternoon, too. And I'll ask Tazuna if there's anything we can help out with on the bridge."

"What are you going to teach us?" Sasuke asked, alert.

"Wall-walking, for a start. Or tree-walking, whatever," Kakashi corrected, looking around at the forest surrounding the bridge-builder's house. "Water-walking from there. Something tells me it's a good idea when staging the defense of an island. From there, probably strategy and whatever I can remember about how people are trained in Mist. It can only help. I don't have enough time to get you all to master much else."

"Um," Naruto said, raising a hand, "I already know that stuff, the wall-walking and water-walking."

Kakashi nodded. "Good. Practice tree-walking a couple of times to get warmed up, and then you can come and help Sasuke and Sakura."

Naruto looked around, picking a suitable tree. Once having reached it, he lifted a foot, making sure the bond between it and the tree was strong before climbing. The texture of the bark made it a little tougher than wall-walking, but at least it wasn't moving the way water did. He paced up and down the tree a few times, pausing to stand upside down on a high branch to watch Sasuke and Sakura's progress every once in a while. After no time at all, he had worked up to speed, running up and down the tree. There was only one hairy moment, when he went to put his foot down and nearly slipped, but he caught himself. Heart pounding, he took another few circuits before coming back down to the ground.

By that point, Sakura looked like she was making real progress, while Sasuke kept trying to tackle it head-on, running as high as he could before he concentration broke and he pushed off, landing hard, knees bent.

Kakashi acknowledged Naruto. "Think you can give these guys some help? I need to go talk to Tazuna about a few things."

Naruto nodded, heading over to Sakura. She seemed like she knew what she was doing. She was getting tired too quickly, though, and Naruto suggested that she work on trying to build her chakra reserves for the future. In the meantime, he gave her pointers on how to cut down on the amount of chakra she was using. It wasn't long before Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke, confident that Sakura would reach her goal within the hour.

Sasuke was a little trickier. He seemed to be able to recite the theory behind wall-walking, and be able to do it at speed without really thinking about it, but the bonds would dissolve when he got up to speed, forcing him to kick off and start over. He wasn't really getting how what he was supposed to do and what he was instinctively doing intersected. Naruto suggested he take it slower. As he pointed out, Sasuke could already form and release the bonds quickly enough to run while performing the technique. He just needed to strengthen his bond and focus on what he was actually doing.

It was then that Naruto's attention was caught by Sakura calling out. She was dangling smugly beneath a high branch, seated as though in an invisible sling.

"How're you doing that?" Naruto asked, walking up her tree to meet her. Sasuke tried to follow, slowly putting one foot in front of the other, stepping off on a lower branch to rest.

"Chakra strings," Sakura said.

"Makes sense," Sasuke said, head tilted back, "You've made a kind of net for yourself. As long as you can keep the strings together and dissolve them at will, you won't get tangled up and you've got a nice vantage point." He smiled, started to climb again. "As long as you can get down safely."

"I guess I could kawirimi down to the ground," she said doubtfully.

"Or haul yourself onto a branch by shortening the strings or lengthening them to reach the branch below," Naruto suggested.

"Hmm," Sakura concentrated. Suddenly she dropped a few feet with a shriek. For a split-second, Naruto braced himself to push off and catch her, but she just hung there, leaning back and forwards like she was on a playground swing and grinning. "Good thing I wear shorts under my dress," she said nonchalantly.

"Okay," Sasuke said, "That looks incredibly weird. But you guys are gonna have to teach me chakra strings, I want to try it."

"First you've got to master tree-walking," Naruto said sternly. "Come on. Try to finish before lunch so we can spend the afternoon coming up with a battle strategy."

Sasuke nodded, chastened, and hopped down, returning to his own tree.

Naruto looked down at Sakura swinging back and forth serenely. "You should work on your chakra reserves," he told her. "Water-walking is tougher than wall-walking."

"Yeah, yeah," she replied. She swung higher, lengthening the chakra strings as she did so, and dissolving them at the peak of the swing, landing hard but intact on the forest floor. Naruto had to admit, that did look like fun.

* * *

><p>That afternoon, after they had all eaten and Kakashi had returned outside with them, they got down to work, trying to hash out a plan. Sasuke was thinking of something involving what he called a "wind-mill" shuriken and shadow clones, which sounded pretty interesting. Sakura was of the opinion that they should have more than one contingency plan, and maybe number them. Naruto thought that while that was a good idea, they should also do some sparring first, to get an idea of each other's fighting styles to play to their strengths.<p>

While Kakashi and Sakura discussed the relative benefits of having rigid plans, Naruto drew a scroll out of his pocket, unsealing a tiny, six-inch mannequin, similar to a model off of which he had based one of his earlier puppets. He unsealed a tiny screwdriver, too, tightening a couple of the little doll's joints, turning it over in his hands as he listened. When he began to manipulate it with chakra strings, operating it like a marionette, the voices of the others trailed off. He looked up to find them watching him.

"What?" he asked.

"What's with the doll?" Sasuke asked, beating Sakura to the punch.

"Excuse you," Naruto said, semi-seriously, "It's an _action figure_."

Sakura patted his hand. Naruto eyed her warily. Since they had stayed up the night before, he had sensed a certain reluctance on the parts of her and Sasuke to get too close to him. Had he been imagining it? They had grilled him for what he knew or was willing to tell them about his new physiology. He had confessed to what he knew; the strings, the mouths on his palms, what he knew about his cursed state. If it repulsed them, they hid it well, but seemed a little too pitying for his tastes. Not really their faults. How else does one react to hearing the kinds of things he had told them?

"Don't worry, Naruto," Sakura said cheerfully, "Some of us, at least, acknowledge that traditionally gendered toys are bullshit."

"It's not a toy," he mumbled.

"No, it's not, is it?" Kakashi said, slowly. "Naruto, were you taught anything about puppetry?"

"Yeah. I've even made a couple," Naruto said. "I don't know if it's the most useful thing in battle, though, seeing as a lot of my other abilities may turn out to be most effective at close range."

"Still, it's worth keeping up those skills, if you happen to be faced with a fighter who wants to keep you at a distance or if you want to do the same."

Naruto shrugged. He hadn't told them about turning Kushina into a puppet. He wasn't sure why he had done that, now. It had been to honor her, but he wasn't too sure when he would be ready to use her again.

Sasuke stood up, stretching. "I think we should resume this later. I want to try to master tree walking today, so we can do water-walking tomorrow. Sound good?"

"Very wise," Kakashi said, rising, too. Sakura and Naruto scrambled to their feet. "I'll supervise for a while, see the progress you made this morning."

* * *

><p>Haku rushed over to Zabuza, who was struggling to sit up. He attempted to push the larger man down. "No, Zabuza-san. You need to lie down and rest."<p>

Zabuza grunted in reply. "Gatou's supposed to pay us a visit today. It would be best if I didn't appear completely defenseless."

"But you _are_ completely defenseless," Haku pointed out primly. "I can be your set of hands. I won't let him lay a finger on you."

"I know you won't, kid. But it's about making a display. Gatou's a thug, but he's also a businessman. I'll bet you anything he comes with at least two bodyguards, just so they outnumber us."

"I'm stronger than them," Haku said with immediate certainty. "You trained me well. I can protect you." _Like you protected me_. He didn't say it, but the words hung in the air.

Zabuza ensured that the bandages were concealing the lower half of his face completely. "I _know_, kid. But if he thinks I'm a sitting duck, we're gonna be harassed by mercs trying to tie off a loose end with a pretty bow. And since I can't be moved for a while-"

Haku sighed. "I get it." He drew out a senbon needle, twirling it deftly between his fingers. "But if he tries anything-"

"Easy, we still want to get paid, if possible."

Haku tsked. "Working for such a man is deplorable, you're better than this."

"Well I'm not particularly employable with a price on my head, now am I?" Zabuza asked sardonically.

Haku shrugged. "We could help build the bridge."

"Yeah?" Zabuza said with a bark of laughter. "What do you know about bridges?"

Haku was silent for a minute. At last, he asked, "What are you going to tell Gatou about the boy who took your hand?"

Zabuza considered for a moment. "Nothing," he said at last. "If we can point that kid at Gatou the moment we get paid, maybe he can kill him off for us while we get out of dodge."

Haku's lips tightened. "We need to know more about what he can do. We may end up fighting him again."

"Haku, no."

"He wouldn't recognize me!"

"What kind of intel do you expect to gain from a casual conversation? 'Gee, the weather sure is nice, and by the way what do you know about human voodoo?'"

"Then I'll spy on him."

"Haku, do not spy on him."

Haku made a frustrated noise. "At the risk of sounding like a brat, why _not?_"

"Because he might see you, and I'm in no condition to provide backup."

"Then I'll make sure he doesn't see me. And even if he does, you know how fast I can move. I'll be fine."

"_No,_ Haku."

"Why?"

"Because," Zabuza cast his eyes around, took a breath, as if steeling himself, "Because I need you here, with me. I need you."

Haku let out a sigh. Check and mate. Very clever, Zabuza-san.

"…Fine." He straightened his shoulders, taking up a position by Zabuza's bed. "When did you say Gatou was going to get here?"

"Any minute now." Just then there was a knock at the door, and Gatou let himself in without waiting, followed closely by two bodyguards. Zabuza and Haku glanced at each other, sharing a look, and Zabuza's mouth under his bandages moved into a smirk. Haku carefully kept his expression neutral. He couldn't stay mad at Zabuza-san.

Gatou was speaking already, insulting Zabuza, calling him pathetic, maybe. Haku would like to see Gatou recover from losing an arm. Or maybe just lose an arm without recovering.

It was only when Gatou grew impatient with Zabuza, moved to the bed and reached out, as though to move aside the bandages or place his hand around Zabuza's throat, that Haku moved, blocking the short man's hand with the back of his own, meeting his eyes with a gentle expression that promised agonizing death.

"Please don't touch him," Haku said pleasantly. "Those bandages are clean. Wouldn't want you touching them with your filthy hand." He heard the two bodyguards loosening their swords in their sheaths. Quick as a flash, he was standing between them, their swords in his hands and pressed to their throats. "Just try it," Haku said cheerfully.

Gatou was visibly sweating. With a cursory attempt to pull himself together, he blurted his ultimatum. "One more chance. You get one more chance, Zabuza." He then beat a hasty retreat, taking his protection with him.

Zabuza sighed, pulling the kunai he held in his left hand out from under the blanket. "Thanks for not letting me get a word in edgewise."

Haku shrugged, blood still boiling. "If you wanted people to think you were chatty, you wouldn't have covered your mouth in bandages."

* * *

><p>Naruto woke very early, rising quietly and pushing back a curtain, rubbing his eyes and yawning. The sun was barely up yet, the forest still fairly dark. He tried to go back to bed, but after half and hour of lying there in silence, he decided to get up. He pulled on the warmest clothes he had brought and tied his headband on out of habit before heading outside to sit with his back against a tree. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself, and letting his chin drop to his chest as several sleepy birds began to make their presences known.<p>

Now, maybe dozing off in an unprotected location when no one knew he was out here wasn't the best course of action. But he had never been one for good ideas at the crack of dawn, and that didn't seem like it was going to be the case anytime soon.

* * *

><p>Haku woke up early, preparing to venture out into the forest to gather herbs. He let his hair down, running his fingers through it to try and make up for the fact that he often kept it tied back instead of combing it. He glanced at his reflection in the window, taking a moment to admire himself, something he rarely indulged in, before he left, basket over his arm.<p>

He traveled quite some way, lost in thought, an eye out for the types of plants he was looking for. It wasn't long before he knelt, putting down his basket and beginning to gather herbs, using the clippers he had nearly used not so long ago to remove the bandages from Zabuza's throat and drain his blood. Funny how that worked.

Alone in the slowly lightening forest, he allowed himself to relax a little, humming under his breath. As he leaned forward to gather a plant that was out of reach, however, he heard a quiet stirring noise to his left. He was instantly on the alert, head snapping around.

His eyes widened at what he saw. It was that kid, the one from before, sleeping alone in the forest, propped against a tree, completely unprotected.

His first thought was that Zabuza had been right. He had clearly been spotted. This had to be a trap- but the kid wasn't moving. Only the gentle rise and fall of his chest showed he was even alive. Haku stood cautiously, gathering up his basket and edging closer.

He could kill the boy right now. It wouldn't be too hard, provided he didn't wake up. But no, Zabuza had said he might be useful.

Instead, Haku reached out, gently shaking the kid's shoulder. The reaction wasn't what he expected. The kid curled up, knees to his chest and arms wrapped tightly around himself as he opened his eyes, squinting through the pale dawn light.

"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

Haku smiled gently, trusting to his innocent-looking face. "Just a friend," he said. "You'll catch a cold if you sleep out here."

"Sleep-?" The kid looked around, suppressing a yawn and rubbing he back of his neck. "Oh, damn. Guess I just had to get out of the house before I could doze off."

"Yeah?" Haku asked, interested, "Why's that?"

The kid rubbed his arms. "I don't know. I didn't used to get claustrophobic, but now… I just don't know." He looked at Haku properly for the first time. "Who are you?" he asked again. "What are you doing out here?"

Haku smiled, offered his hand. "I'm Haku," he said, and, gesturing at his basket, "I'm out here picking herbs for a friend who's pretty sick." _Which is your fault, incidentally._

The kid shook his hand, "Naruto," he said, smiling. "Mind if I see what you've found?" Haku gestured him to go ahead, and Naruto leaned forward, glancing at what was in there and plucking a small plant from Haku's basket. "I don't remember what this is called, but it's for infection, right? And this one-" Naruto picked out another plant, "Is for pain." Haku nodded, raising his eyebrows.

"You know your stuff, I'm impressed," he said, as Naruto returned the plants to his basket.

Naruto shrugged. "Plants aren't really my thing. Although," and he paused, looking around before picking a plant by his right foot. "This one's also pretty good for pain. It has to be applied topically in some kind of poultice. Chewing it up works if you're desperate, but it tastes terrible, I warn you."

Haku was smiling by then. There was definitely more to Naruto than he had reckoned on.

Naruto, perhaps mistaking Haku's silence as awkwardness, hastily went on, "So, how did your friend get hurt? You said they were sick, but judging by the pain killers and disinfectants, I'm guessing they were injured and that got infected?"

Haku was caught off guard, somewhat. "He was hurt working on the bridge," he said, thinking fast. "You sure seem to know a lot. Are you a shinobi, by any chance?"

"I guess the headband kind of gives it away," Naruto said guiltily, adjusting it. "Yeah, I am."

"Then can I ask you something?" Haku asked, pressing forward. To his interest, Naruto pressed himself back against the tree behind him, seemingly uncomfortable with Haku so close.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Why do you do it?"

Naruto blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I mean, why put your life on the line? Why choose such a dangerous line of work?"

"You can die from bridge-building as easily as from doing what I do," Naruto mumbled.

Haku waved this away. "My friend will live. This injury is just something that will remind him to be careful in the future. You must have a reason for what you do. Do you do it for someone?"

Naruto shrugged. "There are plenty of people I want to protect," he said carefully. "I will get stronger to make sure my friends have someone to rely on if they ever need me. But everyone I know is their own person already. I guess I do what I do so I can have that for myself. Because I have friends I can rely on now, but I didn't always. I don't know, this sounds selfish, doesn't it?"

"Not at all," Haku said quietly, surprising himself as much as Naruto. "Autonomy is a gift many people would do anything to protect."

Naruto nodded slowly. "It's not that I don't want to rely on others," Naruto said. "I just want to know my own limits first, to know how much I can rely on myself. I don't want to belong to anyone."

Haku was surprised. What did that mean? "You are very wise for someone so young," He said, wonderingly.

Naruto scoffed. "You're at least as young as I am. And you're ten times prettier than anyone I've ever met."

Haku looked Naruto over carefully, but there was not a trace of embarrassment or seduction there. That was just what he thought, no strings attached. "I'm a boy," Haku said pointedly.

Naruto smiled wryly, "Doesn't change anything."

Now Haku was blushing. He quickly picked up his basket, standing as he did so. Naruto stood, too, and offered his hand. Haku grasped it briefly. "You are very unusual, Naruto," he murmured.

"Don't I know it," Naruto said. "No one like me anywhere."

"I guess not," Haku said absently. He left without another word, passing a dark-haired boy as he came to collect Naruto, mind already turning over what Naruto had said. _'I don't want to belong to anyone.' Who do you belong to, Naruto?_

* * *

><p>Naruto followed Sasuke inside, thinking hard. <em>I swear I've heard Haku's voice before, but where?<em>

When they arrived, he saw Sakura standing by the wall, studying a picture. Inari, Tazuna, Kakashi, and Tsunami were all seated by the table, waiting for Sasuke and Naruto to come back. As they entered, Sakura spoke. "This picture- Inari kept looking at it before. It looks like it's been damaged. Was there someone else in it?"

Naruto's focus sharpened. Sasuke tensed. "Careful Sakura," he said quietly. "Don't pull any threads you don't want to unravel."

Tazuna and Tsunami didn't hear Sasuke, instead twisting around to see the picture in question. Inari's grip tightened on the edge of the table.

"Ah," said Tazuna. "That was Inari's father. He was a real hero."

Inari abruptly pushed his chair back, the legs scraping across the floor. He bounded up and ran out, his face hidden by the brim of his hat. Naruto didn't wait to ask permission this time, but raced after him, following at a short distance.

Inari stalked along purposefully. Naruto wondered how he could see where he was going, but when Inari sat at the end of the pier, he realized that the boy must have come down here many times before. Naruto came up beside him softly and sat down, legs dangling off the edge of the pier. Didn't say anything.

After sniffling for a little while, Inari spoke. "My dad saved me here, once. These mean kids tried to drown my dog and then kicked me in after him. I couldn't swim. I swallowed a lot of water and passed out. Then he saved me." Inari scratched at the wood beneath his fingers, carving grooves with his nails.

"He told me that people should protect what they love with their own two arms," Inari said softly. "He wasn't from around here, but when there was a flood, he jumped into the water himself to close the flood gates. He taught me how to fish."

Inari stopped talking. He was silent for so long that Naruto risked prompting him. "What happened to him?"

Inari's voice was bitter, and he sounded like he was choking back tears. "Gatou came to town. Since dad was a big hero, he resisted. Gatou cut he arms off and then killed him in town square. I watched." Now Inari was definitely crying. "He lied to me! He couldn't protect what he loved!"

Naruto swallowed. That was a hell of a thing. "He didn't lie to you," Naruto said gently. "Trust me, I know what being lied to feels like. Your dad died trying to make sure you didn't suffer. That's what your grandpa is doing with this bridge, making sure you have a good life."

Inari shook his head, sobbing and spattering tears around him. "It won't matter, Gatou will kill everyone. He's too strong."

"Gatou can't oppress everyone here. The people will fight back. And we're here. We can help."

"People keep quitting work on the bridge. They're too scared. No one will fight back."

"Inari," Naruto said sharply, "You're right, heroes don't exist. One person can't defeat all the people Gatou has working for him. But there are four of us, and there are people like your grandpa and your dad who are more afraid of living under Gatou's rule than they are of dying."

Inari was silent for so long after that that when he stood up, Naruto thought he was going to leave again. Instead, Inari took his hat off, thrusting it at Naruto. "Hold this," he said. Naruto took it, nonplussed. Inari took his shirt off next and kicked off his sandals. "I'm going for a swim," he said brusquely. He glanced at Naruto, and he understood.

"I'll keep watch," Naruto promised. _I'll make sure nothing bad happens_. Inari nodded, raised his hands above his head, and dived in with barely any splash.

Naruto turned Inari's hat over in his hands before setting it down by the kid's shirt and sandals. He leaned back on his hands, watching Inari resurface.

* * *

><p>AN: And here it is, in record time!

1) Naruto finally tells his his team the whole story! A couple of people had told me they wanted the full exposition, so I apologize to those who didn't want to sit through the first eight chapters or so condensed into about a thousand words. Sorry, not sorry.

2) Zabuza wakes up to the familiar mask of his faithful tool, Haku. (Just kidding I actually love Haku.)

3) If you can spot the parallelism between the beginning of this scene and the beginning of the last one, you get a cookie. Inari makes his first appearance, Team seven continues to be noble as hell, Sasuke continues to be irrelevant, (Just kidding, Sasuke is one Cool Kid, ask anyone) Naruto teaches Sasuke and Sakura tree-walking, and Sakura invents the chakra swing. Which... is awesome.

4) I get to make a dumb unoriginal and yet highly successful joke about puppets. Naruto is a paranoid bastard because that's just his lot, and he reveals that he can use puppets. He just isn't ready to show off his dead mom puppet yet.

5) Zabuza gives Haku a very stern talking-to. So stern. Like, at least a nine on the sternness scale. And then Gatou turns up and Haku almost gleefully murders someone because he a loose cannon. Like, who let the cannons out, loose. Put a goddamn muzzle on your cannon before I call cannon control. Damn.

6) Naruto's a claustrophobic traumatized child.

7) Haku is a beautiful androgynous-expressing stallion. I spelled every one of those words wrong. Thank you, spellcheck. Seriously, if you don't headcanon Haku as some kind of genderqueer identity, what's the point? Meanwhile, Perfection continues to blaze new trails by having Naruto actually... have no "precious person"... he just wants his life back. You can bet your bottom dollar that's what he's been using his eyelash wishes for. (Also meanwhile my birthday is in less than two weeks and I continue to talk like I am ninety. Fuck the police.)

8) So I actually have Inari tell the story of his father. Writing like a ten-year-old talks is hard. Anyway, in the end, he shows Naruto how far he's come, both by showing him that he can swim and in trusting Naruto to watch over him. Aww.

So here you go, I hope you like this one. I would estimate that Wave Arc will be over in maybe... two chapters? Don't hold me to that. If you liked this, please review! If you didn't, please don't. But, as I am convinced that the people who send me hate don't actually read my story and just kind of stare vacantly at their screens before hitting review, I feel safe enough to call the people who send me hate wieners. Because they will never read this far. Don't be a wiener! If you liked the chapter, drop me a line! I love you guys so much. Stay safe, and remember that self-care is very important.

Pax.


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